Marketing Problems of Radish, Ridge Gourd and Lady’s finger

Abstract

India is the second largest producer of vegetables in the world. Growing vegetables sector provides opportunities for employment generation, attain income and food security and increase income through value addition. The soil and climate of Goalpara district of Assam is conducive for producing a variety of vegetable crops. Among the eight Community Development (CD) Blocks, Matia CD Block is one of the major producers of Radish, Ridge gourd and Lady’s finger vegetable crops. However, due to the absence of efficient marketing facilities and processing units farmers do not receive remunerative prices. As most of the vegetable crops are perishable, their harvest and marketing are very crucial for boosting the development of these crops. It was found that about 4.03 per cent of Radish, 3.57 per cent of Ridge gourd and 3.22 per cent of Lady’s finger’s scope for increasing producer’s share in consumer’s price and also observed that absence of proper marketing facilities in post harvest operations from farmers to the consumers are found responsible for the wide price spread.