Abstract
Fertilizer not only plays a major role in the profitability of the farmer’s business, but also represents an expensive farm input. The emerging farmer market segment is expanding and holds a great deal of potential for fertilizer companies to supply the growing need for fertilizer in this market. Almost all fertilizer marketing strategies of South African companies have been designed to cater for the commercial farming sector; however, if fertilizer suppliers want to focus on the emerging farmer market segment, they need to understand buying behavior of emerging farmers, as well as their needs when developing strategies to utilize opportunities in this developing market. This study aims to identify factors playing an important role in the buying behavior of emerging farmers in the Free State when purchasing fertilizer. The results show that service, brand, product, and learning or psychological factors highly influence emerging farmers’ fertilizer purchase decision. The study also finally draws recommendations and conclusions for managerial perusal.
Highlights
In South Africa, agriculture is a crucial sector to create jobs and to grow the economy
Farmers are at liberty to compare and analyze the alternatives, even revert to more information sourcing, before they make a final decision, namely to purchase, and, if so, which product from what supplier (Quester et al, 2011, p. 228). Fertilizer companies equip their agricultural advisors well so that they can assist farmers in making the correct decision; this is especially important in the case of emerging farmers who have limited experience and knowledge
The literature review indicated that very limited research is being conducted on fertilizer buying behavior by emerging farmers
Summary
In South Africa, agriculture is a crucial sector to create jobs and to grow the economy. Commercial agriculture is one of the country’s most important employers, employing 5.2% of the SA labor force. This sector absorbs unskilled and semi-skilled workers with little formal education (KPMG, 2013). The grain industry in South Africa accounts for 25-33% of the total gross value of agricultural production (SA, 2012). Grains such as barley, maize, oats, wheat, and sorghum, as well as various oilseeds (sunflower, canola, soya bean and groundnuts) make up the “Grain industry” in SA. The largest contributor towards the gross value of field crops for the past five seasons is maize (46.1%), followed by sugar cane (14.2%), wheat (10.6%), hay (8.7%) and soya beans (7.1%). The contribution by provinces to maize production during the 2012/13 production season is depicted in the following figure (DAFF, 2013)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
