Farmers’ Awareness and Purchasing Behaviour Towards Biofertilizers: A Case Study from Kachchh District, Gujarat, India

Abstract

This cross-sectional study examined farmers’ awareness and purchasing behaviour towards biofertilizers among 200 purposively selected farmers across ten villages in five talukas (Anjar, Bhuj, Mundra, Mandvi and Nakhatrana) of Kachchh district, Gujarat, India, using structured personal interviews conducted from January to March 2026. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Weighted Average Mean (WAM) and Garrett’s Ranking Technique. As sampling was purposive rather than random, the findings are indicative of the study area and should not be generalised to all farmers in Gujarat. Most respondents (53 per cent) belonged to the middle-aged group (36-50 years); all were male and about 89 per cent were married. Primary-level education was most common (37 per cent), and roughly two-thirds were small or marginal landholders with annual incomes below Rs. 2,50,000. Awareness of biofertilizers was high (94 per cent), with dealers and fellow farmers as the dominant information sources; however, only about 43 per cent of users had purchased biofertilizers more than once, indicating limited repeat purchase behaviour. Product performance (WAM: 4.29), biofertilizer quality (4.14) and dealer advice (3.89) emerged as the strongest purchase-decision factors, while packaging quality (3.19) and promotional activity (3.39) had the least influence. Lack of technical knowledge (Garrett score: 73.35), poor local availability (61.95) and delayed visible results (53.34) were the most severe adoption constraints. The findings suggest that extension agencies and biofertilizer suppliers should prioritise farmer training and strengthen local distribution networks to convert high awareness into sustained adoption. As the sample was restricted to purposively selected male respondents, the results should be interpreted within this limitation.