An Examination of the Factors Discriminating Onion Growers in West Bengal

The present study is based on empirical survey (2013–14) on hundred sample onion growers from Nadia and Hooghly districts of West Bengal in an attempt to characterise them into different classes in terms of several indicators covering both categorical and continuous variables and examining the factors discriminating them. The goal of this research article is to advocate intervention measures for augmenting onion production in a deficit state of West Bengal. K-means cluster analysis, Group characterization technique and Linear Discriminant Analysis tools have been used for the study. It has been found that the causes of poor performance among low-yield group emanate from cultural practices, technology adoption and managerial lapses. Institutional linkages, developing and restructuring farmers’ oriented bodies, promoting SHGs and building up Onion Producers Company and providing marketing infrastructure and provision of cold storages may change the status of poor onion growers.