Impact of infrastructure on marketing knowledge of coconut farmers of Tumkur district

Agricultural marketing and external trade in agricultural commodities are assuming increasing importance in the wake of ushering in second green revolution, improving the living standards of farm families, making India hunger free and turning poverty into history in the shortest possible time. The challenges facing the marketing system are quite different than what these used to be about two decades before. It reviewed the present status of marketing infrastructure at village heats, assembly centres and terminal markets and projected the infrastructure requirements based on the increases expected in marketed surplus of agricultural commodities. The Working Group also looked at the emerging alternative marketing channels and vertical linkages of marketing groups of farmers with retail and terminal markets and processors.

Producers or farmers organizations should be promoted by providing them financial support for professional managerial services and for creation of some critical post-harvest hand ling/processing infrastructure. With the increasing tendency of organized retailing (like supermarkets), farmers organizations should be provided support in the form of necessary infrastructure of grading, sorting and packaging that will help in increasing farmer to fork linkages.

The coconut utilized for commercial product preparation is only to the extent of 35–40 per cent, while 55–60 per cent is consumed for food and beverage purposes. The main coconut growing districts in Karnataka are Tumkur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chikkmagalur, Chitradurga Karnataka, etc.

This paper focus on I. Introduction II. Objectives III. Methodology IV. Review of literature V. Godown and other facilities VI. Quality of transportation mode to ensure the progress of coconut farmers VII. Need and requirement of online mechanism in coconut farming VIII. Best quality irrigation methods to adopt in coconut farmers IX. Short comings and challenges faced by farmers in recent years X. Findings and suggestions XI. Conclusions Development of agriculture marketing systems, over years has developed its present dimension by adding new infrastructure, integration and specialisation in the respective area. In the context of subsistence farming, the scope of supply chain management was relatively negligible. The farming practices adopted was just to feed and whatever surplus was there to open for trade. It is highly imperative to have foolproof marketing infrastructure facilities coupled with market information systems to back up any agriculture marketing domain. Marketing infrastructure is required to ensure free flow of the farm produce and its efficient marketing. Since the technologies on the production front has changed the supply scenario, adequate marketing infrastructure is needed to handle the huge quantity of farm produce and make the same available to all the consumers both inside and outside the country in an acceptable form.