Resource-Poor potato growers and marketing tribulations

Abstract

Olericulture or vegetable production is an important subsector in developing countries, like Pakistan. Pakistan’s agro-climatic conditions are very favorable for vegetables cultivation but post-harvest losses are much higher and also after harvest, farmers lose a substantial amount of its merchandise in developing countries especially in Pakistan. About 40 to 50% vegetables are lost before consumption in the developing countries. Potato growers are facing a lot of problems regarding production and harvesting, the purpose of study was to identify the marketing issues which potato growers are facing after harvesting the crop. District Gujranwala was selected as study area as it is one of the main vegetable growing district of the province. From the district, a sample size of 144 potato growers was selected purposively. Well-structured and pre-tested interview schedule was used for data collection. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data analyses. Results revealed the most prominent marketing issues of potato growers were no contact or entrance to the international market; expensive transportation; fluctuation in price; poor roads; lack of established market; vegetable market is ignored by the government; loss of quality during movement of produce; unawareness about market rates; double-dealing of dealers and unfamiliarity regarding marketing system are the major restrictions which make it difficult for the improvement of vegetable sector. Therefore, it is suggested that government should pay attention on these problems. There should be a strong linkage between extension agencies and potato growers. These are necessary for eradicating marketing problems of potato growers.