Okra Supply Chain: A Case Study of Vadodara City of Gujarat

Abstract

This study was conducted in 2022 based on the following objectives: 1) to identify different marketing channels of okra in Vadodara city, 2) to estimate price spread of okra crop, and 3) to identify problems encountered by producers and intermediaries. The primary data were collected from 50 farmers, 15 wholesaler,15 retailer,6 commission agent,6 trader,3 private companies of Vadodara city total sample size is 95 while the secondary data were collected from different Private and Government publications to include Review Paper, Literature, and Journals. The following districts in Vadodara City such as Padra, Karjan, Waghodia, Aklav, and Savli talukas were the selected venues of the study. The respondents of the study were randomly selected such as the farmer, wholesalers, retailers and private companies from the above area. The descriptive research design was used for the research. Non-probability sampling method and convenience sampling technique was used. In channel I, very small proportion of the agricultural commodities which moved directly from producers to consumers. Channel II is the most common supply chain for okra during the period of June and July. Both Channel III & IV are working at rural level. Channel I has the best marketing efficiency out of these six marketing channels, but it is not realistic to sell all produce through this channel. However, channel V marketing efficiency is around 68% and is a practically feasible channel due to the lower number of intermediaries. Therefore, the lesser the number of intermediaries the higher will be the marketing efficiency. The most common problem encountered by farmers are lower price which can be solved by collectivism and contract farming.