An Assessment of Constraints Faced by Cabbage Growers in the East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya: India

Abstract

Aims: The study aimed to analyze the common, technical, economical, and marketing constraints faced by the cabbage farmers in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya (2019-2020). Study Design: Purposive random sampling was employed in this study.  One District and two blocks were selected purposively on the basis of their highest contribution to the area and production of cabbage further villages and respondents were selected randomly. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the Mawrykneng and Mawkynrew blocks of East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya. Five villages namely Umphyrnoi, Sohryngkhem, Rapleng, Tynroit and Tangsning were selected and 80 cabbage growers were selected for the study. The data was collected for the period of 2019-to 2020. Methodology: The Garette ranking technique was worked out to analyze the constraints. Results: The major economical constraints observed were high initial investment with the garette score of (77.95), followed by costly plant material (76.39).  The major marketing constraints were high fluctuations in the market prices (63.22), and a lack of cooperative market (55.11). The top technical constraints were control of pests and diseases (53.35), water management (52.63), and the common constraints were lack of knowledge on the recommended package of practices (59.43) and labor problems (52.08). Concluding remarks: Adequate need-based training programs may enhance the production of cabbage and thereby increases the farm income. Proper marketing channels and infrastructural development will help the growers fetch remunerative price for their produce.