DEALERS OUTLOOK TOWARDS VARIOUS INSECTICIDE BRAND AND CONSTRAINTS FACED BY ONION GROWERS IN AMRELI DISTRICT

Abstract

Onion (Allium cepa L.; Family: Amaryllidaceae) is one of the most important commercial vegetable crops. Onion is a cool season crop. India stands at second position in onion production. In India, Gujarat stands at second position in onion cultivation. The present study has been under taken in Rajula, Savar Kundla, Khambha and Dhari talukas of Amreli district, as all four talukas have higher areas under onion cultivation. A multistage sampling technique was adopted to select the districts, talukas, and villages. The study was mainly based on primary data, which were collected through personal interviews with the help of a structured survey schedule. Generally, most of the growers preferred to purchase insecticides by dealer's recommendation. It was also observed that across different insecticide companies dealer's margins varied from 10 to 17 per cent. The majority of the onion dealers have business experience of 11 to 15 years. The most important factor considered by dealers for selling onion insecticides was reported price followed by other factors i.e. quality and brand image. Onion dealers' major expectations from insecticide companies were reported as increasing margins and farmer satisfaction. The major constraints faced by onion growers during the purchase of insecticides were high prices followed by unavailable on time, and low effectiveness of insecticides, whereas for dealers competition among them was the major constraint. Companies should plan for effective field demonstrations, so that, onion growers can understand the difference between poor and good quality insecticide and important steps to be taken care of before use. Companies should also keep growers updated with the latest schemes and benefits launched from time to time.