Abstract
During the Covid 19 disaster and lockdown imposed by the Government, farmers found it difficult to harvest, transport, and market their farm produce and sell at competitive prices. Vegetables being highly perishable required immediate marketing. ‘Uzhavar ‘Sandhai’ (Farmer’s market) was one of the main channels for selling fresh vegetables directly to consumers. The present study was conducted to understand the marketing behaviour of vegetable farmers and identify the major constraints faced in marketing their farm produce during Covid 19 in two Uzhavar Sandhai in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. A sample of 50 sellers was selected based on simple random sampling method. The results revealed medium level of overall marketing behavior among vegetable farmers in ‘Uzhavar ‘Sandhai’ during Covid 19 pandemic situation. The lack of transportation facilities and non-availability of buyers visiting the Sandhai were the significant constraints faced by vegetable farmers. The study also found the need for grading-based fixed prices for the vegetables sold in ‘Uzhavar Sandhai’.
Highlights
The diverse climate of India guarantees that all types of veggies are cultivated
This article aims to study the overall marketing performance and challenges Uzhavar Sandhai vegetable farmers face during the Covid 19 crisis in marketing their produce
During the time of sale, almost all farmers (100%) preferred to sell their farm produce immediately after harvest as vegetable production be deteriorating in the environment with declining prices
Summary
According to the National Horticulture Board, India produced 191.77 million metric tonnes of vegetables in 2019-20. The total area under vegetable cultivation was 10.35 million hectares. India is the world’s largest producer of ginger and okra among vegetables Tamil Nadu accounts for about 3.9 per cent of India’s vegetable production. Direct marketing of vegetable produce to consumers by farmers takes place through ‘Uzhavar ‘Sandhai’ which was launched in 1999 in Tamil Nadu. These Sandhai provide fresh fruits and vegetables at a lower price, which benefits both farmers and consumers. Due to the Covid situation, the risk of vegetable marketing existed, farmers had lost their profits, faced a shortage of buyers visiting the market and marketing was affected by the lack of transport
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