Participation of Brinjal Farmers in Large and Small Wholesale Markets: Factors Influencing Farmers’ Decisions and Impact on Producers’ Prices

Abstract

This research aims to explore the factors associated with the decisions of brinjal (aubergine) farmers to participate in large wholesale markets and estimate the impact of large wholesale markets participation on producers’ prices in the Jashore and Narsingdi districts of Bangladesh. A linear probability model (LPM) was used to identify the factors associated with decisions to participate in large wholesale markets, and propensity score matching (PSM) was applied to estimate the impact of large wholesale markets on producer prices. The results showed that the decision to participate in a large wholesale market is significantly associated with years of schooling, farm size, the distance from the farm to the large wholesale market, road quality from the farm to the market, access to extension services, market information, group marketing, trust‐based credit, yield, and transportation cost. Moreover, this study consistently showed that participation in a large wholesale market had a positive effect on producer price. Therefore, this study suggests the policy implication that comprehensive strategies must be adopted by the government to increase small‐scale farmers’ participation in large wholesale markets and improve the welfare of these farmers.