Economic Assessment of Vegetable Seeds Marketing in Rajshahi District of Bangladesh

Abstract

An efficient seed marketing system is very crucial for boosting vegetable production in Bangladesh. This study evaluated the vegetable seed marketing channels in Bangladesh including profit margins of various traders and different problems faced by them. Primary data from 45 vegetable farmers and 30 seed traders in Rajshahi district were collected by face-to-face interview. Descriptive and profitability analysis were employed, while problem confrontation index (PCI) was used to rank the problems. The findings revealed that vegetable seeds were traded through six major marketing channels. Private agents supply the majority of seeds where dealers, wholesalers, retailers and farmers were the key actors in the channels. However, rural market traders had the highest marketing margin and terminal market traders had the lowest. BCR for terminal market traders was 1.53 that is highest among the traders’ categories where BCR for rural market traders was lowest (1.36). Lack of bank loan facilities, inadequate capital, lack of separate market place, and lack of technical know-how were the major ranked problems faced by traders. The study recommends providing credit facilities to the traders, arranging a separated market place and proper training to increase technical knowledge.