VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF OFF SEASON VEGETABLES IN UTTRAKHAND

SUBMITTED TO GTZ, RED PROGRAM, UTTRAKHAND

SUBMITTED BY MANOJ SINGH, CONSULTANT

CONTENTS Page no. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION I. Background

II. Objectives III. Methodology

5 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 13

3.1. Desk Research 3.2. In-depth interview 3.3. Group discussion CHAPTER 2: OFF-SEASON VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN UTTRAKHAND I. General Information

1.1 Introduction of Production Area 1.2 Off Season Vegetables Production II. Market Information

2.1. Wholesale Market

CHAPTER 3: VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT OFF SEASON 17 VEGETABLES UNDER DIFFERENT MODELS IN SELECTED DISTRICTS OF UTTRAKHAND I) Value Chain Analysis for different Off-Season Vegetables of Dhari and 17 Ukhalkanda Blocks of district Nainital of Uttrakhand (CHEA, Nainital Model) 1.1. General Information 1.2 Off-season vegetables value chain mapping 1.3. Marketing Channel Followed 1.4. Description of value chains members 1.5. Actors and their Functions in the value chain of OSV 1.6. Various marketing cost components in the value chain of OSV 1.7. Structure marketing margin between farmers and wholesale level 1.8. Price Mapping for Off-season vegetables under CHEA model 1.9. SWOT Analysis CHEA Model II. Value Chain Analysis of different Off-Season Vegetables of Kapkot Block of district Bageshwar of Uttrakhand (SHAMA Farmers Federation Model) 2.1. General Information 30 17 19 21 21 24 25 26 28 29 30

2.2. Off-season vegetables value chain mapping 2.3. Marketing Channel Followed 2.4. Description of value chains members 2.5. Actors and their Functions in the value chain of OSV 2.6. Various marketing cost components in the value chain of OSV 2.7. Structure marketing margin between farmers and wholesale level 2.8. Price Mapping for Off-season vegetables under SHAMA Fed. model 2.9. SWOT Analysis SHAMA Fed. Model III. Value Chain Analysis for different Off-Season Vegetables of Bhimtaal, Ramgarh and Dhari Blocks of district Nainital of Uttrakhand (Vinodhara Agritech Model) 3.1. General Information 3.2. Off-season vegetables value chain mapping 3.3. Marketing Channel Followed 3.4. Description of value chains members 3.5. Actors and their Functions in the value chain of OSV 3.6. Various marketing cost components in the value chain of OSV 3.7. Structure marketing margin between farmers and wholesale level 3.8. Price Mapping for Off-season vegetables under Vinodhara Agritech Model 3.9. SWOT Analysis Vinodhara Agritech Model IV. Value Chain Analysis for different Off-Season Vegetables of Bhimtaal,
Ramgarh and Dhari Blocks of district Nainital of Uttrakhand (CHIRAG Model)

32 33 33 37 38 39 41 42 43

43 45 46 46 49 50 51 54

55 56

4.1. General Information 4.2. Off-season vegetables value chain mapping 4.3. Marketing Channel Followed 4.4. Description of value chains members 4.5. Actors and their Functions in the value chain of OSV 4.6. Various marketing cost components in the value chain of OSV 4.7. Structure marketing margin between farmers and wholesale level 4.8. Price Mapping for Off-season vegetables under CHIRAG Model 4.9. SWOT Analysis CHIRAG Model

56 59 60 60 64 65 67 68 70

V.

Value Chain Analysis for different Off-Season Vegetables of Lamagara and Dhauladave Blocks of district Almora of Uttrakhand (ULIP, Almora Model)

71

5.1. General Information 5.2. Off-season vegetables value chain mapping

73 74 74 74 76 76 76 76 77

5.3. Marketing Channel Followed

5.4. Description of value chains members

CHAPTER 4: CONSTRAINTS/ OPPORTUNITIES AND CONCLUSION I. II. Constraints Opportunities

III. Conclusion IV. Appendices

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION I. Background

Uttarakhand is the most recent

The REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM in

initiative of the Federal Republic of Germany in promoting Indo-German economic cooperation by assisting a relatively backward region in India to bridge the existing economic divide between the hills and the plains by complementing and supporting ongoing development efforts. The RED envisages a steady flow of technical assistance from the German side which is program

intended to

complement the Government of Indias reform policies geared towards a more inclusive growth and reducing poverty by generating income and employment, particularly for the rural and marginal groups in Uttarakhand. Following a market driven approach, the program focuses on the development of selected valuechains and clusters with potential for inclusive growth, the creation of improved framework conditions for pro-poor market development and the improvement of market access for small and medium sized enterprises and producer organizations. The program also emphasizes on regional marketing and the promotion of Uttarakhand as a business location. The program is anchored in the Department of Rural Development of the GOU in cooperation with German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). In recent times the Indian economy has witnessed rapid economic growth and transformation. However the impact of this phase of economic resurgence continues to be limited to certain sun rise sectors. There still is a large cross section of the population that continues to remain untouched by the general spell of economic transformation. As a result of this overbearing phenomenon, today, the challenge lies in improving market access for large parts of the population, particularly rural and / or deprived groups, thus enabling them to grasp opportunities embedded in the ongoing economic development. Such challenges are especially evident in the new state of Uttarakhand, which is characterized by a dual economic structure: agricultural subsistence economy in the hilly regions and dynamic industrial development in the plains that remain largely disconnected, thereby reinforcing the already existing economic and social disparities. To break this deadlock a concerted drive is required to improve upon the framework conditions and identify promotional instruments that foster the development of local enterprise and their integration in sustainable value chains; all leading to the creation of income and employment opportunities. The present study was carried out to analyze the economics aspects of the Off Season Vegetables (OSV) value chain in selected districts of Uttrakhand.

II.

Objectives To collect relevant information from growers to consumers on current farming and marketing practices of OSV in the region.

To define essential players in OSV value chain, then to map flowchart for different marketing channels and to evaluate roles of particular players in the chain.

To identify the overall value added generated by the chain and shares of value addition at different stages

To gather data and information on the production and marketing costs at each stage of the chain, and the cost structure along the chain stages

To identify the cost drivers To assess the performance of operators (utilization of productive capacity, productivity, profitability)

III.

Methodology

By approval of GTZ and through identification of different stakeholders, value chain study on OSV has been carried out by adopting following approach:

a. Desk Research: Relevant information from different resources such as annual reports of the organizations, reports from workshops, conferences had been collected and presented in accordance with the objectives of the study.

b. In-depth interview: Oral interviews had been carried out for individuals or representatives of particular organizations in order to obtain reliable information or experiences regarding OSV cultivation and marketing. Players in OSV value chain like input suppliers, aggregators in cultivated area, wholesalers in cities, retailers and consumers had been identified. Reliably collected information had been subsequently analyzed in such a manner required by objectives of investigation.

c.

Group discussion: Information regarding to cultivating and marketing practices of water melon had been obtained from growers through field visit, farmers group discussions in order to learn problems and needs of growers. These information had also been analyzed and presented in this report.

CHAPTER 2: OFF-SEASON VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN UTTRAKHAND I. General Information

1.1 Introduction of Production Area The present study is confined to some selected blocks of Nainital, Almora and Bageshwar districts of Uttrakhand which are considered as main production areas of OSV in Uttrakhand. Within these areas, different models of off season vegetable production has been in operation, these models are being run by different organizations such as NGOs, Govt. Organizations, entrepreneurs etc.

Figure 1. Map of Uttrakhand showing the OSV growing region 1.2 Off Season Vegetables Production
Uttrakhand is the home for cultivation of all kinds of vegetables, which are grown in the different altitudinal zones and in all the geographical locations. In addition, diversity in the vegetable crops can be observed everywhere. In terms of production, some areas are producing high quality and quantity of vegetables but the production is not as much as can be desired keeping favourable geoenvironmental conditions in view. The villages, which are located in the highland, are exporting vegetables, particularly potato, in the regional market and earning high income. But at the same time, most of the regions in the mid-slopes are producing vegetable domestically while the agro-ecological conditions are quite suitable for their high production. The hill areas are capable of growing off-season vegetables that have a great demand in the plains. A related advantage for Uttarakhand is its relative proximity to Delhi and other north Indian urban centres that have an increasing demand for fruits and vegetables.

Table 1. Off-Season Vegetables major growing regions and their time of production in Uttrakhand

S.No.

Off-Season Vegetable

Months of Production

Growing Region

1 2 3

Cauliflower Tomato French Bean

July September July August July September

Garampani, Hartapa, Hali, Sunkiya Garampani, Hartapa, Hali, Sunkiya Bhimtaal, Garampani, Chafi, Hartala, Hali, Sunkiya

Capsicum

July - September

Suyalbari, Garampani, Hartapa, Hali, Sunkiya

Source: APMC, Haldwani, Nainital Pea, Cabbage, Cauliflower, French Bean, Tomato and Capsicum are the main off-season vegetables grown in the region (Table 1). The production time ranges from June-September. II. Market Information

Uttrakhand and Himachal Pradesh states have comparative advantage of off-season vegetable production in India. In Uttrakhand, wholesale F&V market at Haldwani, Distt. Nainital is one of the biggest wholesale market where large part of production of off-season vegetables from Uttrakhand comes. Seasonal pattern of off-season vegetables arrival at wholesale market in Haldwani (Year 2008-09, Figure 2) revealed that arrivals of off-season vegetables during June September months are lowest due to low availability of produce during that time which is considered as main production time for off-season vegetable production in Uttrakhand. Reasons for low availability at wholesale market is due to production constraints (limited quality input use, lack of irrigation facilities), production risks are high due to climatic risks (rainy season), plant diseases risk, poor post harvest management (absence of sorting, grading etc operations), local consumption, presence of organized retailers such as Mother Dairy, F&V Unit for long period. Due to low level of arrivals of offseason vegetables in June September months, these vegetables got highest prices in the wholesale market (Figure 3).

Figure 2. Seasonal pattern in Off-Season Vegetables arrivals in wholesale market at Haldwani (Year 2008 09)
Tomato 180000 160000 140000 120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 20000 0

Tomato

Highest Volume Arrival: February March Lowest Volume Arrival: September October

Cabbage/ Cauliflower 25000 20000 15000 10000 Cabbage/ Cauliflower 5000 0

Highest Volume Arrival: August - September Lowest Volume Arrival: May June

Green Pea 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0

Green Pea

Highest Volume Arrival: November Lowest Volume Arrival: July August

French Bean 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

French Bean

Highest Volume Arrival: June Lowest Volume Arrival: February

Figure 3. Seasonal prices of Off-Season Vegetables in wholesale market at Haldwani (Year 200809)
Tomato 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Tomato

Highest Price: July - August Lowest Price: November

Cabbage/ Cauliflower 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Cabbage/ Cauliflower

Highest Price: June - July

Lowest Price: January February

Green Pea 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 Green Pea

Highest Price: October November (Arrivals during July September is very low) Lowest Price: January February
French Bean 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 French Bean

Highest Price: April - May Lowest Price: September

2.1. Wholesale Market Haldwani is the main wholesale market for fruits and vegetables for the farmers of the region. Therefore, understanding the wholesale market and its functionaries is important. Following are the main stakeholders in the market: ): They procure OSV directly from the farmers/ their agents in villages during 2.1.1. Traders ( OSV production time. They generally do buying and selling only and charges commission for the produce they procure (around 5.5 %). The arrival of OSV is generally irregular on per day basis. There are around 400-500 traders in the wholesale market. 2.1.2. Loaders: Since the volume of arrival of OSV is scattered in the wholesale market, loader performs the function of collecting the produce from traders and charges his commission (around 45 %). They do procurement only for big volume demanded from other wholesale markets outside the state such as Lucknow, Meerut, Delhi, Faridabad, Agra, Bareily etc. There are around 50-60 loaders in the market. They do procurement of av. 6-7 truckload of OSV during production time. 2.1.3. Graders: These are labours who do sorting, grading and packing as per requirement of the buyer, they charge around Rs. 3 per crate and Rs. 5 to Rs. 7 per gunny bag.

Figure 4. Tomatoes being graded in Wholesale Market (Haldwani) 2.1.4 Packers: They only provide packaging material as per requirement of the trader/farmer/buyer. These packing materials are gunny bags (costing around Rs. 8-10) and wooden boxes (costing around Rs. 15-20).

Figure 5. Wooden boxes for transportation 2.1.5. Transporters: They provide transportation facility for sending produce to far off markets (av. Cost is around Rs.6000/- for 5-6 tons produce for a distance of 300 Km and that takes around 8-10 hrs to reach the final destination, Table 2)

Figure 6. Truck load of OSV Table 2 . Transportation cost of tomatoes to various destinations S.No. 1 2 Packing Units 512 crates (26 Kg per crate) 216 crates Destination Delhi Meerut Cost (Rs.) 7500 3800

2.1.6. Labours: There are general labours in the market yard who performs the function of loading, unloading, grading and sorting as per requirement. 2.1.7. Weighing Operator: The operator is located at the gate of the market yard and does weighing of transport carriage with produce and without produce (after the produce is kept in the market), they charge as per the transport carriage. For example; for tempo (3-5 MT Capacity) charges are Rs.10/-, for pick up vehicle (1-2 MT Capacity)charges are Rs.15/- and for truck (6-8 MT Capacity) charges are Rs.30/-

Figure 7. Weighing Machine at the entry of wholesale market (Haldwani)

Figure 8. Digital display of market information at Haldwani wholesale level (not working regularly)

Figure 9. Weighing balance (possibility of human error in weighing is more)

Figure 10. Commission chart of APMC, Haldwani

There are certain unaccountable errors w.r.t. exact volumes, prices, commission charges made at wholesale level. These errors are might be due to error in weighing at trader level due to use of old weighing machines which are being operated by hand (Figure 9) and weighing of carriage at the entrance of market yard (Figure 7), overcharging of commission while APMC, Haldwani has fixed commission charges rates as per APMC, Uttar Pradesh 1964 Act (Figure 10). Even though market has digital market information system (Figure 8) but prices are being displayed not on regular basis.

CHAPTER 3: VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT OFF SEASON VEGETABLES UNDER DIFFERENT MODELS IN SELECTED DISTRICTS OF UTTRAKHAND II) Value Chain Analysis for different Off-Season Vegetables of Dhari and Ukhalkanda Blocks of district Nainital of Uttrakhand (CHEA, Nainital Model)

1.1. General Information Central Himalayan Environment Association, an NGO working in the Dhari and Ukhalkanda blocks of district Nainital, Uttrakhand in the area of off-season vegetables particularly w.r.t. improving the production and marketing processes.

Figure 11. Production of OSV in Dhari Block villages Blocks Covered: Dhari and Ukhalkanda Villages: 33 Main Market: Haldwani Potential future markets: Bhawali, Nainital, Bhimtaal, Almora Table 3. Basic details related to crop production and post harvest operations S.No. Particulars Pea Av. no. of farmers involved in Off-Season Vegetable Cultivation Av. Land devoted to off-season (nalis per crop) 2500 Cabbage 2500 Crops Cauliflower French Bean 400 300

Tomato 600

Capsicum 400

5.78

3.57

2.72

1.02

2.89

1.02

Ha./crop Production volume (t) Av. Yield (t/ha.) Harvesting time Hybrid / Improved variety Post harvest operations followed At farm level At wholesale level At retail level Post harvest losses (%) At farm level At wholesale level At retail level Post harvest losses reason Packing Packing capacity (Kg)/ unit

289.00 1806.25 6.25 March April Arkel

178.50 2454.38 13.75 Sept. Nov. Varun

21.76 190.40 8.75 Aug.-Sept.

6.12 38.25 6.25 Jun. Aug. Anupama

34.68 476.85 13.75 JuneNov. Himsona, Manisha

8.16 20.40 2.50 July-Sept.

Snow Crown

Bharat, Tanvi

Sorting

Sorting

Sorting

Sorting

Grading

Sorting

5 5 10 Moistur e loss

5 5 Crushing

5 5 Crushing

5 Moisture loss Jute Bag 30 - 32

5 10 Crushing and Rotting Wooden Box 18 - 20

5 10 Rotting during transportation Jute Bag 10 - 20

Jute Bag Jute Bag 30 - 35 28 - 35

Jute Bag 25

Table 3 shows the production volume (average) of different OSV in the region and other details of production and post harvest processes in the region. It has been observed that primary post harvest operations are being carried out at retail level only and due to which there are huge post harvest losses from farm to retail level (around 20 % in pea, 15 % in tomato and capsicum).

1.2 Off-season vegetables value chain mapping

INPUTS
CONSUMPTION

PRODUCTION

TRADE

MARKETING

Extension Service Provider Retailers in Haldwani Market

Off-season vegetable farmers

Village Commission Agent (Aggregator)

Consumers

(CHEA)

Credit Institutions (Kisan Credit Card, Banks) Hawkers Wholesalers at Haldwani Mandi

Wholesale Trader

Mandis in Barailey, Lucknow, Meerut etc

VC Supporter

VC Operator

Informal business relation (Product)

Informal business relation (information)

1.6. Marketing Channel Followed: Farmers Aggregators Wholesalers Retailers/ Supermarkets Consumers This is the main marketing channel followed in CHEA model, farmers send their produce to aggregator/ village commission agent, who is in touch with wholesalers at Haldwani market and sends the produce to them. From Haldwani market, the produce is sold to retailers/ other wholesale markets (Lucknow, Meerut etc) and finally to consumers. 1.7. Description of value chains members 1.7.1. Off-season vegetable growers Through direct observation and discussion with farmers, the results showed that: Average area under off-season vegetable production per farmer is around 17 nalis/ farmer (50 nalis = 1 ha.), farmers practice crop rotation in their fields as follows: January Potato June Tomato, Cabbage, Cauliflower July (end) - Pea Most of the farmers are dependent upon Haldwani Mandi Traders for seed supply and are not aware of the latest varieties for production; very few progressive farmers are buying seeds directly from input suppliers. Farmers follow the cultivation procedure as sowing of seeds, spraying of pesticide and harvesting of produce at the end. Farmers knowledge regarding scientific cultivation of off-season vegetable is very limited. Most of the farmers are not aware of soil sampling for soil testing even though Govt. Department is doing soil testing but farmers are not aware of further recommendation to be followed even after soil testing. Micronutrient deficiency (Curds becomes bluish colour during March sown cauliflower due to deficiency of molybdenum), heavy rainfall during growing season (improper germination of pea seeds), diseases (French bean turns yellow due to wilt) are some of the factors that leads to low level of production. Most of the farmers take advance from Haldwani mandi traders (70% as advance) before crop is cultivated and are under debt. It was found that most of the farmers have debt of Rs.10,000 Rs.20,000. There is complete absence of primary post harvest operations (sorting/ grading etc) by farmers. Farmers are not aware of the market rates, whatever information is supplied by aggregator/ village commission agent; he has to rely upon them.

As farmers grow only cash crops, cereals (wheat/rice) have been supplied by Haldwani mandi traders to the farmers.

Besides off-season vegetables, farmers do cultivation of potato, lime, fruit crops such as peach, Khumani (wild apricot) etc.

1.7.2. Aggregator/ Village Commission Agent He is the main link between Haldwani Mandi traders and farmers. He is on the roadside where farmers brought their produce. He performs the operation of loading, unloading, putting marks on the packing units (Name of the farmer and name of the trader to whom it should be sent, figure 12).

Figure 12 . Name of the farmer and trader (as symbol) is marked on packing He charges around Rs. 4-5/ packing unit. He also performs the function of information provider to traders about the production level in the fields, consumable requirements of the farmers etc. He is also in touch with transporters for loading of produce. 1.7.3. Transporters Transporters act as one of the main link between production area and market. Transportation is mainly done at two levels: i) ii) Produce loaded on animal (av. Charges @ Rs. 10 per packing unit) Since the production is scattered and small quantities from different fields, transporters collects produce from collection points through aggregator and charge around Rs. 8 - 11/ packing unit produce for a distance of 80 Km upto Haldwani Mandi.

1.7.4. Wholesalers Village commission agent sends the produce to wholesalers in Haldwani Mandi. A wholesaler knows the production statistics of farmers produce through village commission agents. He also knows the demands of the farmers, his requirements for consumable items, monetary support. The traders in Haldwani mandi also provides input services to the farmers and maintains their accounts records for each farmer. Farmers are

under debt of these traders as they are over dependent on them for their day to day requirements. Besides Haldwani, now wholesalers are also coming up at Bhawali region (presence of 3-4 wholesalers) which is near to the production area (around 40-50 km distance as compared to 100 km distance to Haldwani). 1.7.5. Retailers Retailers at hawkers level, organized retail level etc have tie up with wholesalers at Haldwani mandi and they dont have any links with farmers. The price difference of most of the produce between wholesalers and hawkers ranges between 25-35 % depending upon the production volume. Recently, due to intervention of NGOs, some of the vegetables (other than OSV) have been sold at Nainital and Bhimtaal areas at retail level that holds promising future.

1.7.6. Consumers Consumption is at two levels i.e. direct consumers who purchase produce from hawkers at retail level and indirectly through hotels and Restaurants.

1.5. Actors and their Functions in the value chain of OSV

INPUTS
TRANSPORT TRADE TRANSPORT

PRODUCTION

MARKETING

CONSUMPTION

Farmers Wholesaler Jeep Owner / Trucks Hawker Large supplier Small Capacity Vehicle owner Rickshaw puller, Autos

A C T O K R S Animal Load Broker Animal cart

Horticulture Department (Public sector), CHEA (NGO)

Retail market seller

City Consumers

Hotels and Restaurants

Haldwani Mandi Traders

Land preparation Grading Sorting

Loading Unloading

Storing Sorting

Buying produce for consumption Carrying transport to retail level Buying + Selling

Supply of seeds, pesticides and fertilizers Buying + Selling Transport

Sowing

Spraying

Harvesting

A C T I V I T I E S

Packing

Loading + Unloading, transportation by pick up vehicle, link between farmer and wholesale trader to assess demandsupply

1.6. Various marketing cost components in the value chain of OSV Various marketing cost components (Table 4) for OSV such as packing, transportation, commissions, wastages, miscellaneous charges were taken into consideration. Table revealed that highest marketing cost was found in tomato (Rs. 6.64 per Kg or 33.20 % of wholesale price and lowest in French bean (Rs.3.75 per Kg or 20.83 % of wholesale price) Table 4. Various marketing cost components in the value chain of off-season vegetables Cost factors (Rs./kg) Packing Transportation cost (animal drawn cart) Transportation cost (Roadside to Haldwani Mandi) Total Transportation Cost Aggregator Commission Farm wastage Wholesale wastage Unloading charges at mandi (Rs./unit) Weighing charges @ Rs. 0.75 / unit Stationary charges at mandi @ Rs.0.50/ unit Weighing error @ 5 % Commission rate charged to farmer @ 8 % (Rs./Kg) Total Commission Charges at Wholesale level (Rs./Kg) Total Marketing Cost (Rs./Kg, this cost excludes Input Cost) Pea Cabbage Cauliflower French Bean 0.32 0.48 0.35 Tomato Capsicum

No. 1 2 3

0.31 0.46 0.34

0.32 0.48 0.25

0.40 0.60 0.32

1.58 0.74 0.42

0.67 1.00 0.53

4 (2+3) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

0.80 0.15 1.50 1.50 0.06 0.02 0.02 1.50 2.40

0.73 0.16 0.00 0.68 0.06 0.02 0.02 0.68 1.08

0.92 0.20 0.00 0.68 0.08 0.03 0.02 0.68 1.08

0.83 0.16 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.02 0.02 0.90 1.44

1.16 0.26 0.00 1.00 0.05 0.04 0.03 1.00 1.52

1.53 0.33 0.00 1.10 0.13 0.05 0.03 1.10 1.20

13 (8+9+10+ 11+12) 14 (1+4+5+6 +7+13)

4.00

1.86

1.89

2.44

2.64

2.51

8.26

3.75

4.09

3.75

6.64

6.14

1.7 Structure marketing margin between farmers and wholesale level

at Within the marketing cost, the share of packing, transport at two levels, aggregators commission, wastages at farm and wholesale level and commission rate at wholesale level charged to farmer was analysed. In all the cases, commission rate at wholesale level charged to farmers (highest in French bean @ 65.07 % of the charged total marketing cost) contributes most to the total marketing cost this was followed by transportation cost in most of the cases (highest in capsicum @ 24.92 % of the total marketing cost), Figure 13. cost), 13 The marketing cost at wholesale market level comprises of many factors i.e. 8% (2.5 % mandi tax + 5.5 % commission by trader) commission, stationary charges, unloading charges at wholesale market (mandi), weighing charges and weighing errors (hidden cost factor) and all the cost are born by farmers. In case of transportation, land is fragmented and at lower level than roadside in most of the cases. Farmers have to bring their produce at road level through donkeys (produce loaded on animals) which sometime cost more sometimes than the transportation from road to wholesale market.

. Figure 13. Structure marketing margin between farmers and wholesale level

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Commission at wholesale level charged to farmers Wholesale wastage Farm wastage Aggregator Commission Transportation Packing

1.8. Price Mapping for Off-season vegetables under CHEA model

Price map stated that farmers share in end price in OSV is lowest in Capsicum (31.18 %) and highest in Pea (67.13 %) when all the factors of production and other cost factors are taken into consideration.

FARMER

PACKING

TRANSPORT

WHOLESALE

CROP Pea 0.31 1.03 0.32 2.37 0.40 2.96 0.32 1.78 1.58 7.90 0.67 3.05 6.81 0.83 4.61 1.16 5.80 1.53 6.95 0.92 5.41 0.73 2.67 0.80

20.14

30.00 29.17 13.50 25.41 13.50 35.34 18.00 36.67 20.00 37.70 22.00 58.82

67.13

Cabbage

9.02

66.81

Cauliflower

7.41

54.89

French Bean

10.25

56.94

Tomato

9.72

48.60

Capsicum

6.86

Price Received (Rs./Kg.) Share of end price (%) Price Received (Rs./Kg.) Share of end price (%) Price Received (Rs./Kg.) Share of end price (%) Price Received (Rs./Kg.) Share of end price (%) Price Received (Rs./Kg.) Share of end price (%) Price Received (Rs./Kg.) Share of end price (%)

31.18

1.9. SWOT Analysis CHEA Model Strength: The region is very well suited to off-season vegetable production and CHEA has created 31 FIGs (Farmers Interest Groups) i.e. 20 farmers/ group in the region and cluster approach has been initiated, they have also created CHEA Utpadak and Vipanan Samuh (Producer and Marketing Cluster) which is at nascent stage. They have also started farmers retail centre at Bhimtaal recently with the support of NABARD. Further to this, direct marketing by farmers to Nainital and Almora markets have been explored recently which shows good results and farmers are getting good prices for their produce. Weakness: Farmers are not aware of the grading and quality standards of different off season vegetables cultivated in the region. Transportation from field to market is cumbersome process. Farmers are dependent upon traders for inputs and marketing of produce. There is complete lack of market intelligence at farmers level; they dont know the prices of the off-season vegetables during production time. Due to fragmentation of land and greater distance from field to road, transportation cost is generally high and collective marketing by farmer is totally absent. Farmers dont have any infrastructure where primary post harvest operations could be done together and storage could be possible. Opportunity: Since cluster approach (CHEA Utpadak and Vipanan Samuh) has been defined by Nainital based NGO, further improvement in value chain is possible through creation of producer company/ cooperative etc. Nainital, Bhimtaal, Ulmora etc are tourist places and these places are nearby to the production area, there is good demand of off-season vegetables in these places and presence of retail centre could further shortened the intermediateries in the trade and hence margins of farmers could further be improved. Threat: Farmers are dependent upon Haldwani traders for inputs for production and other consumables for their family. They are also under debt of these traders therefore it will be difficult for them to do marketing on their own. Presence of CHEA Utpadak and Vipanan Samuh (Cluster) is an important step in collective marketing but their sustainability needs to be defined properly so that even if the NGO stops facilitation, the cluster could sustain on its own.

II. Value Chain Analysis of different Off-Season Vegetables of Kapkot Block of district Bageshwar of Uttrakhand (SHAMA Farmers Federation Model) 2.1. Background and General Information Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. Of India supported a project Samaikit Udyanik Vikas Pariyojna being run by CHEA, an NGO in Kapkot block of Bageshwar district to increase the production of horticultural produce in the region. Initially the project was run by an NGO (for 5 years) and later on handed over to farmers federation (Daanpur Krishak Maha Sangh). Farmers of the region felt the need of market after the project and therefore collection, grading and marketing centre (retail outlet being run by farmers federation) was established with the support of Horticulture Department and State Government.

Figure 14. Collection, Grading and Marketing Centre of Farmers Federation at Bageshwar Block Covered: Kapkot Villages: 36 Nearby Market: Bageshwar Av. Distance of Market from Field: 55 Km Table 5. Basic details related to crop production and post harvest operations S.No . Particulars Pea 1 Av. no. of farmers involved in Off-Season Vegetable Cultivation Area under cultivation (ha.) (Av. 2.5 nalis/ farmer) 400 Cabbage 400 Cauliflower 350 Crops French Bean 200 Tomato 450 Capsicum 200

20.00

20.00

17.50

10.00

22.50

10.00

Harvesting time Production volume (t) Hybrid / Improved variety Av. Yield (q/ha.) Post harvest operations followed At farm level At retail level Post harvest losses (%) At farm level During transportation At retail level Packing Packing capacity (Kg)

April June 111.38 Arkel, Azad

June Nov. 135.00 Varun

June Nov. 118.13 Snow Crown

Apr. June 28.35 Anupama, Contender, Black Queen 28.35

June Sept. 216.00 Vaishali

Mar. Sept. 61.43 Bharat, Gungun

55.69

67.50

67.50

96.00

61.43

Sorting

Sorting

Sorting

Sorting

Grading

Sorting

5 5 15 Gunny bags 30

5 10 Gunny bags 40

5 20 Gunny bags 27

5 10 Gunny bags 15

10 10 Wooden boxes 15

10 5 20 Gunny bags 17

Table 5 shows the production volume (average) of different OSV in the region and other details of production and post harvest processes in the region. It was found that average productivity of most of the OSV is very low in the region. Primary post harvest operations are being carried out at retail level only but the post harvest losses are huge at retail level due to absence of cool chain management, lack of availability of space at retail level. During production period, its difficult to handle the volume of produce at retail level.

2.2. Off-season vegetables value chain mapping

INPUTS

PRODUCTION

MARKETING

CONSUMPTION

Public and Private Extension Service (Subsidised Seeds by Horticulture Department)

Retailer

Farmers

(Danpur Krishak Maha

Private Consumers

Sangh)

Retailers (Around 4050 small retailers in Bageshwar) Other Consumers (Restaurants and Hotels)

Retailer (Sunday Market)

VC Supporter

VC Operator

Informal business relation (Product)

2.3. Marketing Channel Followed: Farmers RetailersConsumers Farmers sold different off-season vegetables directly to retailers, mainly to Danpur Krishak Mahasangh and also to 50-60 local vegetable retailers at Bageshwar besides them retail market (Sunday market) is organized once in a week where some farmers brought their produce. Since the production volume is less and there is no wholesale market at Bageshwar, most of the off-season vegetable produced in the region is consumed within the Bageshwar district market. The present channel brings higher price and higher profits to farmers as the intermediate agents were mainly cut off. 2.4. Description of value chains members 2.4.1. Off-season vegetable growers Through direct observation and discussion with farmers, the results showed that: Average area under off-season vegetable production per farmer is around 2.5 nalis/ farmer (50 nalis = 1 ha.), farmers are mainly cultivating potato under major area (around 10-15 nalis/farmer). Seeds for cultivation are mainly procured by farmers from Horticulture Department, Govt. Of Uttrakhand under subsidized rates (around 50 % subsidy under AJEEVIKA programme). Farmers follow the cultivation procedure as sowing of seeds, spraying of pesticide and harvesting of produce at the end. Farmers knowledge regarding scientific cultivation of off-season vegetable is limited. The average productivity of most of the off-season vegetables is very low, due to following reasons: 1. Farmers complaint of spurious quality seeds 2. There is no irrigation facility available 3. Absence of scientific cultivation management practices 4. Due to various weather vagaries (such as heavy rainfall, hailstones etc) production levels falls down Generally women do most of the farm operations Post harvest farm losses are mainly in tomato and capsicum Transportation of produce is one of the biggest hurdle to farmer as roadside is far away from fields. Produce is mainly transported through donkeys / rope ways to the main road. Farmers are smart in market price query, most of the farmers have mobile phones and they gain information through retailers, jeep drivers (they are the main transport link between production area to Bageshwar), other farmers.

2.4.2. Transporters Transporters act as one of the main link between production area and market. Transportation is mainly done at two levels:

i)

Produce loaded on animal (around 1-2 Km from field to roadside, av. Charges @ Rs. 12 per quintal of produce) and rope way (av. Charge of Rs. 8 per quintal of produce (Rs. 4 for operator + Rs. 4 for diesel to run rope way, Figure 15).

Figure15. Rope way system for transportation of valley OSV produce to roadside

ii)

Since the production is scattered and small quantities from different fields Jeep owners act as link between roadside to market transportation (upto Bageshwar). They charge around Rs. 25/ 40 kg produce for a distance of 55 Km. They also act as link between farmer and retailer for price discovery and demand-supply assessment.

2.4.3. Retailers Collection, Grading and Market Centre, Danpur Krishak Mahasangh (Farmers Federation) is one of the main retailer (Figure 16) for off-season vegetable production in the area.

Figure 16. Retail outlet of Farmers Federation, Bageshwar

Besides them there are around 50-60 other vegetable retailers in the Bageshwar market. Danpur Krishak Mahasangh is a small centre owned by the Farmers Federation but run by entrepreneur who charge 8 %

commission on the market rate of produce to the farmer. The entrepreneur bears the cost for running the centre and pays to various stakeholders as monthly rent to the federation (around Rs. 800 per month), municipality of the district (Rs.1700 for 6 months), electricity and water bills (Rs. 500 per month) and labour charges (Rs. 5000 per month) and also has good reputation with the farmers as he is also the farmer from the same region of production. They generally do collection, grading (sometimes) and selling of the farmers produce directly to the consumers. During Off-season vegetable production season, they do selling to other retailers in the market besides direct consumers. Due to small area of centre (Figure 17)and rainy season during off-season vegetable production, the retailer tries to sell all the produce immediately from the centre and there is huge wastage at retail level due to these reasons.

Figure 17. Unorganized storage at Retail centre of Farmers Federation, Bageshar Rates are generally decided by the retailers on the basis of demand-supply and market rates of Haldwani Mandi and Bageshwar Market.

2.4.4. Consumers Retail outlets at Bageshwar are the main off-season vegetable suppliers to the consumers. Usually consumer evaluates vegetables quality by eye and hand touching. The criteria order applied when selecting vegetables are: size, maturity or ripeness or color, shape, taste or flavour or aroma. They make decision base on the size appearance and price.

2.4.5. Hotels and Restaurants In Bageshwar district, March to August is the main tourist season and it coincides with the off-season vegetable production season. Therefore there is enough demand of off-season vegetables in hotels and

restaurants during that period. There are around 25 - 30 hotels and restaurants in the Bageshwar district and they directly buy off-season vegetables from the retailers.

2.5. Actors and their Functions

INPUTS
PRODUCTION TRANSPORT

MARKETING

CONSUMPTION

Horticulture Department

Farmers

Trolley Operator

Farmers Retailer

City Consumers

A C T O K R S Donkey Load Kiosk Retailer Jeep Owner

Input Suppliers

Hotels and Restaurants

Land preparation

Storing Sorting

Buying produce for consumption Buying + Selling

Supply of seeds, pesticides and fertilizers

Sowing

Spraying

Harvesting

A C T I V I T I E S Loading + Unloading, transportation by pick up vehicle, link between farmer and retailer to assess demandsupply

Packing

2.6. Various marketing cost components in the value chain of OSV Table on various marketing cost components in the value chain of OSV (Table 6) revealed that highest marketing cost was found in Capsicum (Rs. 18.50 per Kg or 46.25 % of retail price) and lowest in the cabbage (Rs. 5.63 per Kg or 28.15 %). Table 6: Various marketing cost components in the value chain of OSV Cost factors Pea Cabbage Cauliflower French Bean 0.53 0.83 Tomato Capsicum

Packing (Rs./Kg) Transportation cost (From Shama to BageshwarRs./Kg.) Post harvest loss @ farm level (Rs./Kg.) Post harvest loss @ transport level (Rs./Kg.) Post harvest loss @ retail level (Rs./Kg.) Commission rate charged to farmer (Rs./Kg) Total Marketing Cost (Rs./Kg, this cost excludes Input Cost)

0.27 0.83

0.20 0.83

0.30 0.83

0.67 0.83

0.47 0.83

1.50

1.00

1.25

1.25

2.50

4.00

1.50

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.00

4.50

2.00

5.00

2.50

2.50

8.00

2.40

1.60

2.00

2.00

2.00

3.20

11.00

5.63

9.38

7.11

9.33

18.50

2.7. Structure marketing margin between farmers and consumers Within the marketing cost, the share of packing, transport at two levels, wastages at farm, transport and retail level and commission rate charged to farmer was analysed. In all cases, we look at the cost structure of simple commodity chain where farmers deliver their produce to the Shama Federation retailer. In all the cases, wastage at retail level (highest in cauliflower @ 53.30 % of the total marketing cost) followed by commission rate charged to farmers (highest in cabbage @ 28.42 % of the total marketing cost) contributes most to the total marketing cost (Figure 18) and total marketing cost for capsicum is highest as compared to other OSV (Figure 18). Wastage at retail level may be attributed to the following reasons: Complete absence of cool chain management at the retail centre. During off-season vegetable production season (June-September), its difficult to handle produce at small scale level retail centre and rainy season interferes in post harvest handling of the produce and which attributes to wastage due to spoilage (in case of capsicum, tomato etc), improper handling of the produce (loss of whiteness of cauliflower curd, drying and loss of green colour of pea etc).

Figure 18. Structure marketing margin between farmers and consumers

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Packing Transport - II Transport - I Farm wastage Commission rate charged to farmer Retail wastage Transport wastage

Table 7. Prices and values of the Off-Season Vegetables grown in the region Unit Pea Producer Quantities Produced Producer Price Total value production Marketing Sector Total marketing cost Consumer Quantities consumed Retail Price Total value consumption Cabbage Crops Cauliflower French Bean 118.13 23.00 2.72 28.35 23.00 0.65

Tomato

Capsicum

Tonnes Rs./ Kg. Million Rs.

111.38 27.60 3.07

135.00 18.40 2.48

216.00 23.00 4.97

61.43 36.80 2.26

Rs./Kg. ( %)

11.00 (36.67 %)

5.63 (28.15 %) 128.25 20.00 2.57

9.38 (37.52 %) 112.22 25.00 2.81

7.11

9.33

18.50 (46.25 %) 55.29 40.00 2.46

(28.44 %) (37.32 %) 26.93 25.00 0.67 194.40 25.00 4.86

Tonnes Rs./Kg. Million Rs.

105.81 30.00 3.17

2.8. Price Mapping for Off-season vegetables under SHAMA model

FARMER

PACKING

TRANSPORT

RETAIL

CROP Pea 0.27 0.90 0.20 1.00 0.30 1.20 0.53 2.12 0.67 2.68 0.47 1.18 0.83 3.32 0.83 3.32 0.83 2.08 3.32 0.83 4.15 0.83 2.77 0.83 30.00 40.46 20.00 32.05 25.00 40.24 25.00 37.80 25.00 36.52 40.00 46.54

16.76

55.87

Cabbage

12.56

62.80

Cauliflower

13.81

55.24

French Bean

14.19

56.76

Tomato

14.37

57.48

Capsicum

20.08

Price Received (Rs./Kg.) Share of end price (%) Price Received (Rs./Kg.) Share of end price (%) Price Received (Rs./Kg.) Share of end price (%) Price Received (Rs./Kg.) Share of end price (%) Price Received (Rs./Kg.) Share of end price (%) Price Received (Rs./Kg.) Share of end price (%)

50.20

Farmers receive lowest share of end price (50.20 %) in capsicum and highest in cabbage (62.80 %).

2.9. SWOT Analysis Shama Federation Model Strength: The region is very well suited to off-season vegetable production and presence of local authority (Horticulture department) in growing region could further improve the scientific crop production practices followed by producer. The direct marketing channel between farmers and retailers has been developed, which is not involving lot of intermediate agents, thereby farmers gain better income with better market prices. Weakness: Most of the production of off-season vegetable is at low scale due to less land devoted to off season vegetable production by farmers. Productivity of off-season vegetable is very low as compared to recommended productivity of specific varieties due to presence of spurious seeds, absence of irrigation facilities, low awareness level amongst farmers for scientific crop production practices, weather vagaries etc factors. Farmers are not aware of the grading and quality standards of different off season vegetables cultivated in the region. Transportation from field to market is cumbersome process. Post harvest losses at farm and retail level contribute maximum loss of value due to interference of rainy season during production time. The production cost and marketing cost are high and most importantly involvement of Danpur Krishak Mahasangh is very limited in the entire value chain in terms of operation. Opportunity: Since the region is well suited for off season vegetable production, more area could be brought under cultivation to increase the scale of production and with proper coordination amongst Dagri Samuh (farmers from 36 villages that comprises Danpur Krishak Mahasangh) for production till marketing process, further improvement in the value chain could be possible. At retail (Danpur Krishak Mahasangh centre) outlet, provision of cool chain management could further improve the condition and perishability due to post harvest losses (retail level) could be minimized. With further improvement in production scale, grading of the produce and possible tie ups with wholesalers at Delhi, Lucknow, Barailey could increase farmers income. Threat: High migration rate of farmers family members from villages to city areas leading to greater exodus due to loss of interest in farming and also there is strong competition from other off season vegetables growing region in the Uttrakhand (if produce is sent to wholesale markets at Haldwani, Delhi, Lucknow, Barailey etc). High perishability and marketing cost are also significant constraints.

III. Value Chain Analysis for different Off-Season Vegetables of Bhimtaal, Ramgarh and Dhari Blocks of district Nainital of Uttrakhand (Vinodhara Agritech Model) 3.1. General Information Vindohara Agritech is a proprietor company being run by agribusiness professional in the field of OSV production and marketing in the growing region. The company provides input, extension and marketing services to the farmers. The company is operational for the last one year. Blocks Covered: Bhimtaal, Ramgarh and Dhari Markets For A Grade Produce: Meerut, Lucknow Mandis and Retailers (Reliance Fresh, 4Fresh) in Delhi For B Grade Produce: Haldwani Mandi Aggregation points of OSV produce Raotighat, Nathuakhan, Ghigrani, Paharpani

Figure 19. Vinodhara Agritech, Collection and Distribution Centre of OSV

Table 8. Basic details related to crop production and post harvest operations S.No. Particulars Pea Cabbage Crops Cauliflower French Bean

Tomato

Capsicum

Av. no. of farmers involved in Off-Season Vegetable Cultivation Av. Land devoted to off-season (nalis per crop) Ha./crop Av. Yield (t/ha.) Production volume (t) Harvesting time Hybrid / Improved variety

40

75

35

40

70

4.80 7.41 35.57 April August Arkel, Azad P1

6.00 8.65 51.90 15th May Sept. Krishna, Varun, Manas, Riya

2.10 8.65 18.17 15th May Aug. Snow Crown, Snow mist, Kavery, Sweta

0.80 6.18 4.94 June Oct.

4.20 24.70 103.74 June Sept.

0.18 4.32 0.78 15 June Aug.

Anupama Himsona, Manisha, 777, Abhay, Aishwary a, Lico

Green Miracle, California Wonder, Crystal Green

Post harvest operations followed At farm level At wholesale level Post harvest losses (%) At farm level At wholesale level Post harvest losses reason Packing Packing capacity (Kg)/ unit

Sorting

Sorting

Sorting

Sorting

Grading

Sorting

4.5 Moistur e loss Gunny bags 40

2.5 Crushing

2.5 Crushing

4.5 Moisture loss

2.5 Crushing and Rotting Wooden Box 18

2.5 Rotting during transportation Cartons 17

Gunny bags 25

Gunny bags Gunny bags 25 40

Table 8 showed that less no. Of farmers are involved with Vinodhara Agritech (as the company selects only progressive farmers) and there are many options for varieties for farmers. Post harvest losses are minimum in this model.

3.2. Off-season vegetables value chain mapping

INPUTS
CONSUMPTION

PRODUCTION

TRADE

MARKETING

Extension & Input Service Provider (Vinodhara Agritech) A grade produce to Lucknow, Meerut Mandis Consumers

Off-season vegetable farmers

Vinodhara Agritech as Aggregator and Marketing Agent

Credit Institutions (Kisan Credit Card, Banks) A grade produce to Retailers such as Reliance Fresh, 4 Fresh etc

B grade produce to Haldwani Mandi

VC Supporter

VC Operator

Informal business relation (Product)

Informal business relation (Information)

3.3. Two types of Marketing Channel Followed:

1. Farmers Aggregator Wholesalers Retailers Consumers Through Meerut, Lucknow Mandis Farmers Aggregator Retailers Consumers Through Reliance Fresh, 4Fresh retailers in Delhi It comprises of 40 % of the produce of A grade quality 2. Farmers Aggregator Wholesalers Retailers Consumers It comprises of 60 % of the produce of B grade quality

3.4. Description of value chains members 3.4.1. Off-season vegetable growers

Through direct observation and discussion with farmers, the results showed that:

Average area under off-season vegetable production per farmer is around 18 nalis/ farmer (50 nalis = 1 ha.), farmers practice crop rotation in their fields as follows: January Potato June Tomato, Cabbage, Cauliflower July (end) - Pea

Farmers follow the cultivation procedure as sowing of seeds, using fertilizers, spraying of pesticide and fungicides and harvesting of produce at the end.

Progressive farmers are attached to Vinodhara Agritech. Seeds have been supplied by Horticulture department and private input suppliers that includes Vinodhara Agritech (as Input supplier also).

As the fields are below the level of roadside, transportation cost is a major problem. Transportation from field to roadside is mainly done through animals costing av. Rs. 0.75 / kg (depends upon the distance between field and road).

Farmers are free to supply their produce to any buyer depending upon the prevailing market rates of Haldwani mandi. Some of the farmers are in touch with traders at Haldwani mandi.

Besides off-season vegetables, farmers do cultivation of fruit crops such as peach, apricot etc.

3.4.2. Aggregator and Marketing Agent

Vinodhara Agritech is a proprietary firm run by Mr. N. P. Singh, he is an agribusiness professional with Masters in Agriculture and operates through hub and spoke model for off season vegetables in the region. The company provides input services, extension services and act as aggregator and do final marketing of produce to various destinations depending upon the quality of produce. The company operates through aggregation/ collection centres (around 4-5) in different production areas (in Bhimtaal, Ramgarh and Dhari blocks). These centres (Raatighat, Nathuakuan, Ghigrani, Niglat etc areas) are located between 8 to 40 km distance from the Hub Centre. The company do weighing (through electronic balance) and make on the spot payments to the farmers based upon the prevailing market rates of Haldwani mandi. The company has developed its own online market rate assessment system and also discover prices of the produce through Reuters Market Light (sms crop service) information system. The company charges 5 % commission rate from farmers (2.5 % mandi tax + 2.5 % companys commission).

3.4.3. Transporters
Transporters act as one of the main link between production area and market. Transportation is mainly done at two levels:

Produce loaded on animal (av. Charges @ Rs. 2 per Kg produce)

Figure 20. Production of OSV in valley area (transportation cost are high)
Since the production is scattered and volumes are low, transportation is done by Vinodhara Agritech from various collection points (spokes) to main centre (hub) with its distance ranges from 8 to 40 Km from collection points.

3.4.4. Wholesalers i) Haldwani Mandi

Vinodhara Agritech has tie up with various wholesalers at Haldwani mandi and the company sends B grade produce to wholesalers during production time. These wholesalers charges around 5-6 % commission on the produce. These wholesalers dont do any grading, sorting operations. Their role is limited to buying and selling of produce at their own sheds/ market area.

ii)

Lucknow, Meerut Mandis

Vinodhara Agritech also supplies A grade produce to mandis other than Haldwani and gets premium price for its produce. It comprises of 40 % of the produce.

3.4.5. Retailers
Vinodhara Agritech has tie up with various retailers such as Reliance Fresh, 4 Fresh etc in Delhi. The company do sorting, grading of produce as per requirement of the retailers with a premium price of more than 25 % (Table 9 ).

Table 9. Av. Market rates at Haldwani mandi level, Lucknow mandi level and retail level in Delhi Market Rates Pea Cabbage Cauliflower (Rs./kg) Av. Rates at wholesale level Haldwani Mandi (Rs./Kg) B grade produce 14.50 4.00 12.00 rates (60% of the total produce) A grade produce 22.00 6.00 16.00 rates (40% produce) Av. Rates at 37.50 13.00 27.50 wholesale level Lucknow/ Delhi Mandis (Rs./Kg) Av. Rates at 65.00 25.00 50.00 organized retail level Reliance Fresh, 4Fresh etc (Rs./Kg) French Bean
12.00

Tomato

Capsicum

10.00

14.00

19.00 27.50

14.50 22.50

20.50 30.00

40.00

30.00

60.00

3.5. Actors and their Functions

INPUTS
TRANSPORT TRADE CONSUMPTION

PRODUCTION

MARKETING

Horticulture Department (Public sector) Animal Load Van Hotels and Restaurants

A C T O K R S Retailers (Reliance Fresh, 4Fresh)

Farmers

Vinodhara Agritech

Wholesale Mandis at Haldwani, Lucknow, Meerut

City Consumers

Vinodhara Agritech

Land preparation Grading Sorting

Storing Sorting

Buying produce for consumption Buying + Selling

Supply of seeds, pesticides and fertilizers Buying + Selling Packing Transport

Sowing

Spraying

A C T I V I T I E S

Harvesting

Loading + Unloading, transportation by pick up vehicle, link between farmer and wholesale trader

3.6. Various marketing cost components in the value chain of OSV

Various marketing components in the value chain were calculated separately for A and B grade produce (Table 10 and Table 11). Total marketing cost for Pea is highest amongst all OSV in grade A produce while its highest in Capsicum in B grade produce.

Table 10. Various marketing cost components in the value chain of off-season vegetables (For A grade produce upto wholesale level) Cost factors Pea Cabbage Cauliflower French Bean 0.88 0.75 Tomato Capsicum

Packing (Rs./kg) 0.38 0.40 0.40 0.59 1.00 Transportation cost 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 (on animal cart Rs./kg) Transportation cost - 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 From collection point to main centre (Rs./kg) Transportation cost 1.33 1.33 1.33 1.33 1.33 1.33 From main centre to wholesale level (Lucknow, Delhi Mandis) (Rs./Kg) Total Transportation 3.08 3.08 3.08 3.08 3.08 3.08 Cost (Rs. / Kg) Aggregator 0.55 0.15 0.40 0.48 0.36 0.51 Commission @ 2.5 % (Rs./kg) on the basis of rates given to farmers Mandi Tax @ 2.5 % 0.55 0.15 0.40 0.48 0.36 0.51 (Rs./kg) Post harvest losses 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 At farm level (Rs./ kg) Post harvest losses at 1.69 0.33 0.69 1.24 0.56 0.75 wholesale level (Lucknow/Delhi Mandis (Rs./ kg) Commission rate 2.63 0.91 1.93 1.93 1.58 2.10 charged at wholesale level @ 7 % (Rs./Kg) based upon wholesale level prices Total Marketing Cost 8.88 4.69 6.90 8.09 6.53 7.95 (Rs./Kg,) Table 11. Various marketing cost components in the value chain of off-season vegetables (For B grade produce upto Haldwani Mandi wholesale level)

Cost factors
Packing (Rs./kg)

Pea
0.38

Cabbage
0.40

Cauliflower
0.40

French Bean 0.88

Tomato
0.59

Capsicum
1.00

Transportation cost (on animal cart Rs./kg) Transportation cost From collection point to main centre (Rs./kg) Total Transportation Cost (Rs. / Kg) Aggregator Commission @ 2.5 % (Rs./kg) on the basis of rates given to farmers Mandi Tax @ 2.5 % (Rs./kg) Post harvest losses At farm level (Rs./ kg) Post harvest losses at wholesale level (Lucknow/Delhi Mandis (Rs./ kg) Commission rate charged at wholesale level @ 7 % (Rs./Kg) based upon wholesale level prices Commission charged to farmers Total Marketing Cost (Rs./Kg,)

0.75

0.75

0.75

0.75

0.75

0.75

1.00

1.00

1.00

1.00

1.00

1.00

1.75
0.36

1.75
0.10

1.75
0.30

1.75
0.30

1.75
0.25

1.75
0.35

0.36 0.00 0.65

0.10 0.00 0.10

0.30 0.00 0.30

0.30 0.00 0.54

0.25 0.00 0.25

0.35 0.00 0.35

1.02

0.28

0.84

0.84

0.70

0.98

1.74 4.52

0.48 2.73

1.44 3.89

1.44 4.61

1.20 3.79

1.68 4.78

3.7. Structure marketing margin between farmers and wholesale level (Haldwani Mandi)
Within the marketing cost, the share of packing, transportation, wastages at wholesale level and commission rate charged to farmer was analysed for wholesale level (both for A and B grade produce) (Table and Table ). In all the cases, transportation cost (highest in Cabbage @ 64.10 % and 65.67 % of the total marketing cost) contributes most to the total marketing cost this was followed by commission rate charged to the farmers in most of the cases (highest in pea @ 38.50 % and cauliflower @ 39.57 % of the total marketing cost), Figure 21. In case of transportation, land is fragmented and at lower level than roadside in most of the cases. Farmers have to bring their produce at road level through donkeys (produce loaded on animals) which sometimes cost more than the transportation from road to wholesale market and also the produce is B grade which fetches slightly lower prices thereby contributing mainly in the marketing cost. While commission rates are charged at two levels i.e. at Vinodhara Agritech level (2.5%) followed by commission charged at wholesale

level (Haldwani mandi level, 6-7 %). Therefore commission rates also contributes mainly to the total marketing cost.

Figure 21. Structure marketing margin between farmers and wholesale level (Haldwani Mandi) for B grade produce

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Packing Transportation Commission charged to farmers Wholesale wastage

Figure 22 . Structure marketing margin between farmers and wholesale level (Lucknow, Meerut Mandi) for A grade produce

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Packing Transportation Commission charged to farmers Wholesale wastage

3.8. Price Mapping for Off-season vegetables under Vindohara Agritech model
Price received by farmers after deduction of input cost, Transportation Cost (Animal cart), Vinodhara Agritech Commission (2.5 %), Mandi Commission (2.5 %) factors (Table ).

Table . Price Mapping for Off-season vegetables under Vindohara Agritech model (From Farmers Field to Wholesale level (Lucknow / Meerut / Delhi Mandi)

FARMER

PACKING

TRANSPORT

WHOLESALE

CROP Pea

Cabbage

Cauliflowe r

French Bean

Price Receive d (Rs./Kg. ) Share of end price (%) Price Receive d (Rs./Kg. ) Share of end price (%) Price Receive d (Rs./Kg. ) Share of end price (%) Price Receive d (Rs./Kg. ) Share of end price (%)

18.90

0.38

3.08

37.50

50.40

1.01

8.21

40.38

4.38

0.40

3.08

13.00

56.94

3.08

23.69

16.29

13.52

0.40

3.08

27.50

49.16

1.45

11.20

38.19

15.49

0.88

3.08

27.50

56.33

3.20

11.20

29.27

Tomato

Capsicum

Price Receive d (Rs./Kg. ) Share of end price (%) Price Receive d (Rs./Kg. ) Share of end price (%)

12.68

0.59

3.08

22.50

56.36

2.62

13.69

27.33

17.01

1.00

3.08

30.00

56.70

3.33

10.27

29.70

3.9. SWOT Analysis VINODHARA AGRITECH Model Strength: The company is run by an entrepreneur who is an agribusiness professional. The company
has got all the components of production to marketing aspects such as input supply, packing, transportation, linking with markets at wholesale level and retail level. They follows hub and spoke model of procurement of off season vegetables from the farmers and on the spot payments are made to the farmers based upon actual weight (weighing done by electronic balance) of the produce. The company also provides extension services to the farmers through farmers meetings.

Weakness: Very few numbers of farmers and those who have land holding of more than 20 nalis
each are associated with Vinodhara Agritech. The company selects only progressive farmers. Due to fragmentation of land and greater distance from field to road, transportation cost is generally high. The companys interest is mainly in procurement of A grade produce only. The company pay prices to the farmers based upon the prevailing market rates of Haldwani mandi while they do marketing upto the level of organized retailers. The company is operational for just one year.

Opportunity: More and more numbers of farmers could be associated with Vinodhara Agritech. This
will increase the volume of the produce and due to various extension services offered by the company; quality of the produce could also be improved. For scaling up of operations, presence of skilled manpower (agribusiness) could further improve the system.

Dissemination of market information to farmers of prices of A grade produce sent to organized retailers could improve farmers profit margin.

Threat: Since the company provides various services from input supply to marketing, complete
dependence level of farmers on the company could lead to monopoly of the company in the absence of other stakeholders of agribusiness service provider.

i.

Value Chain Analysis for different Off-Season Vegetables of Bhimtaal, Ramgarh and Dhari Blocks of district Nainital of Uttrakhand (CHIRAG Model)

4.1. Background and General Information CHIRAG (NGO) commenced its Agri marketing programme in 2007 in its areas of operation.

Project area of CHIRAG Chirag has initiated the programme in 20 villages across the project areas of Kashiyalek (9 villages) , Reetha (6 villages), Suyalbari (4 villages) , Naukuchiyatal (1 villages) and 1 federation in district of Bagehwar that is also one of the project area. (Table 12). Table 12. Project area of CHIRAG Villages in Kashiyalekh Area Pokhrar Buribabna Malla Supi Talla supi Dubkhar Lodh Galla Parwada Supi Kafli Villages in Reetha Area Garhgaon Meora Simayal Hartola Darim Chatola Villages in Suyalbari Area Attakhas Atavirta Ulgor Dhari Villages in Nauki Area Alchona Villages in Bageshwar Area One Farmers Federation that covers 60 villages and has 255 registered members

Blocks Covered: Kasya, Reetha, Sialbari, Naukichetal and Bageshwar Blocks Markets: Wholesale market (Delhi, Haldwani), Organized Retailers in Delhi

Table 13. Basic details related to crop production and post harvest operations S.No . Pea Cabbage Cauliflower French Bean Av. no. of farmers involved in OffSeason Vegetable 200 100 65 40 55 Tomato Capsicum Particulars Crops

Cultivation Av. Land devoted to offseason (nalis per crop) Ha./crop 44.00 16.00 6.50 9.60 11.00 11.00 8.00 5.00 12.00 10.00

Av. Yield (t/ha.) Production volume (t) Harvesting time -

8.05
354.20

8.65
138.40

6.18
40.17

16.70
160.32

4.87
53.57

Apr. - July

July

June July

July August

July - August

Hybrid / Improved variety

Gidion, Krishna, Varun, Manas, Riya

Snow white

Contend er

Himsona, Manisha

Local variety

Post harvest operations followed At farm level At wholesale level Post harvest losses (%) At farm level At wholesale level Post harvest losses reason Moisture loss Moisture loss Puncture and rotting during transportation Packing Jute Bag Jute Bag Jute Bag Wooden box Packing capacity (Kg)/ unit 20 22 50 18 Full 9 Half 17 Jute Bag 5 5 5 5 5 Grading (A, B, C) -

Table 13 shows the production volume (average) of different OSV in the region and other details of production and post harvest processes in the region. No data was found for pea, as this crop was not procured by CHIRAG (in 2008-09, Table 13). In 2009 due to erratic rainfall and low production volume,
CHIRAG didnt procure that much off-season vegetables.

Table 13 . Procurement of off-season vegetables done by CHIRAG and expected procurement in 2010

Produce Cabbage French bean Tomato Cauliflower Capsicum

Procurement 2007
6673.50 40.00 119.00 208.00 0.00

Procurement 2008
4539.00 0.00 5495.00 224.00 1174.00

Procurement 2009
1468 0 0 0 0

Procurement 2010
12614.06 45.00 6315.75 486.00 1320.75

4.2. Off-season vegetables value chain mapping

INPUTS
CONSUMPTION

PRODUCTION

TRADE

MARKETING

Extension (CHIRAG) & Input Service Provider Consumers & CHIRAG as Aggregator and Marketing Support Unit A and B grade produce to Wholesale Delhi Market A grade produce to Organized retailers in Delhi

Off-season vegetable farmers

&V Marketing Samitis

Credit Institutions (Kisan Credit Card, Banks)

C grade produce to Haldwani Mandi

VC Supporter

VC Operator

Informal business relation (Product)

Informal business relation (Information)

4.3. Marketing Channel Followed:

Farmers F&V Marketing Samiti CHIRAG Wholesalers Retailers Consumers

Farmers F&V Marketing Samiti CHIRAG Retailers Consumers

4.4. Description of value chains members 4.4.1. Off-season vegetable growers Through direct observation and discussion with farmers, the results showed that: Average area under off-season vegetable production per farmer is less than 20 nalis/ farmer (50 nalis = 1 ha.), as this is one of the criteria of CHIRAG to select farmers with less land holdings. Farmers follow the cultivation procedure as sowing of seeds, using fertilizers, spraying of pesticide and fungicides and harvesting of produce at the end. In the CHIRAG marketing system, farmers responsibility is limited to grading, weighing and loading (dhulan). Post harvest management is the major problem faced by farmers due to rainy season. Farmers are mostly not aware of the grading practice to be followed and they send produce to other buyers (other than CHIRAG) as CHIRAG only procures graded produce. In case of cabbage and cauliflower, CHIRAG gives rates on the basis of weight while traders in Haldwani mandi gives rates on the basis of packing unit (Gunny bag) to the farmers. Accessibility to collection centre and absence of complete procurement of produce i.e. whole lot by CHIRAG are few drawbacks which farmers pointed out. Farmers mainly do cultivation of apricot, plum and peach fruits besides off season vegetables in the region.

4.4.2. F&V Marketing Samiti F&V Marketing Samiti comprise of President, Secretary and members from cluster, there are around 7 clusters (10-20 farmers per cluster) in the Farmers Samiti. These clusters makes formal representation for effective dissemination of information pertaining to post harvest management to marketing aspects of the produce. The secretary of the Samiti provides services of F&V collection centre and he charges 2 % for this from farmers. Further to this the Samiti charges 7 % as rent for collection centre, grading of the produce, packing, loading (lodai), inspection services. The samiti also performs the function of documentation, demand-supply assessment, payments made to farmers and display of marketing rates and information pertaining to products at the collection centre.

4.4.3. Aggregator and Marketing Support Unit (CHIRAG) CHIRAG is an NGO working as marketing support unit to Fruit & Vegetables Marketing Samitis to provide a forward linkage to these Samitis by linking them to different markets and deduct transportation cost (to Haldwani), loading (Rs.2 per unit) and unloading (Rs.2 per unit) cost and service charges (4 % around). While another sister concern of CHIRAG is Kuamon Gram Udyog (KGU), which is section 25 company and which operates for the procurement of cereals and pulses as marketing support unit.

In F&V, CHIRAG has initiated the programme in 20 villages across the project areas of Kashiyalek (9 villages) , Reetha (6 villages), Suyalbari (4 villages) , Naukuchiyatal (1 villages) and 1 federation in district of Bagehwar.

Following are the services provided by CHIRAG

1.

Advise/Training in Sustainable Agriculture Improving soil health through organic methods (compost with bio-inoculants) Improving the quality of planting material (seed treatment and improved nursery raising) Organic pest and disease control through minimal external inputs Agricultural extension on practices

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Through Samitis provides day today pricing pattern to farmer. Provide appropriate packing material and weighing facilties. Help farmer to bring duly graded and packed produce for marketing. Arranging competitive transport facilities for final destinations. Through continuous follow-up with buyers, obtain most competitive prices. Keeping a close watch on declaration of quality assessment parameters by various mandies/retailers to reduce the rejectable quantity.

8.

Distribute the cost of material to farmer within designated period irrespective of collection of same from the mandi/retailer, etc.

9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Collect the final sale price to be accounted by Chirag. Organising small and marginal women farmers into collective marketing Reducing marketing expenses through collective action. Collective input supply like seeds, organic fertilizers, pesticides etc. Promoting non-pesticidal management.

Marketing support unit of CHIRAG declares rates of F&V three days in advance based upon prevailing market rates of Haldwani mandi. They also prepares database on expected production (month wise, variety wise), weekly break up. The NGO holds mandi tax licence. They also declared grading specifications to the farmers. CHIRAG pays the amount to women farmers and also maintains proper documentation of all the records. Before the produce is ready for market, they do pre market survey and collect information about prices by personnel visit (taking samples) to organized retail centres such as Big Bazaar, Spencer, Aditya Birla etc. They also have contacts with traders at Azadpur Mandi (Wholesale mandi in Delhi) for price discovery. They sent A and B grade produce to organized retails and wholesale mandi (Delhi) and C grade to Haldwani mandi. CHIRAG gives payment to the farmers after 15 days interval.

4.4.4. Transporters Transporters act as one of the main link between production area and market. Transportation is mainly done at two levels: Produce loaded on animal (av. Charges @ Rs. 40-50/ 80 kg produce)

Since the production is scattered and volumes are low, transportation is done by CHIRAG from various collection points through truck load. The truck moves around 50-60 km area for collection of produce.

Because of low volume of off-season vegetables, truck load couldnt able to utilize full space which leads to high transportation cost (death freight).

4.4.5. Wholesalers

i)

Azadpur Mandi, Delhi

CHIRAG have identified few traders in Azadpur mandi, Delhi for sending A and B grade produce. They have shortlisted to 3-4 traders who pay good prices to them.

ii)

Haldwani Mandi

CHIRAG sends B & C grade produce to haldwani wholesalers during production time.

4.4.6. Retailers CHIRAG has tie up with various organized retailers such as Big Bazaar, Spencer, Aditya Birla group, 6to10 etc. The NGO do sorting and grading of produce than supply it to retailers.

4.5. Actors and their Functions

INPUTS
POST HARVEST

PRODUCTION

TRANSPORT

TRADE

MARKETING
CONSUMPTION

Farmers CHIRAG (Animal Cart) CHIRAG (Truck) Retail Organized

A C TK O R S Farmers Hotels and Restaurants

Horticulture Department (Public sector)

F&V Marketing Samiti

Wholesale Mandi (Delhi)

City Consumers

Input Service Provider

Land preparation Storage Grading Sorting Transport Rates Information Documentation Transport Packing Payments Unloading Networking Sorting Loading

Demand-Supply

Storing

Buying produce for consumption Buying + Selling

Supply of seeds, pesticides and fertilizers

Sowing

Spraying

A C T I V I T I E S

Harvesting

4.6. Various marketing cost components in the value chain of OSV

Various marketing cost components in the value chain of OSV revealed that highest marketing cost incurred in pea (Table 14).

Table14. Various marketing cost components in the value chain of off-season vegetables (For A grade produce upto wholesale level) Cost factors Pea Cabbage Cauliflower French Bean Transportation A) Transportation cost (on animal cart Rs./kg) B) Transportation cost (charged from farmer upto Haldwani Rs./kg) C) Transportation cost From collection centres to wholesale level (Delhi Mandi) born by CHIRAG (Rs./Kg) Actual Transportation Cost upto Wholesale level (Delhi) (Rs. / Kg) (A+C B) Secretary, F&V Marketing Samiti @ 2.00 % (Rs./kg) Rent charges for collection centre F&V Marketing Samiti @ 5.00 % (Rs./kg) For grading, packing, weighing operations CHIRAG Charges Service charges @ 4 % Rs.4 per packing unit 0.09 0.20 0.18 0.08 0.22 0.24 1.70 0.34 1.12 0.80 0.80 1.00 2.13 0.43 1.40 1.00 1.00 1.25 0.85 0.17 0.56 0.40 0.40 0.50 2.81 2.81 2.81 2.81 2.81 2.81 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.56 0.56 0.56 0.56 0.56 0.56 Tomato Capsicum

(For loading and Unloading) Post harvest losses At farm level (Rs./ kg) Post harvest losses at wholesale level (Delhi Mandis (Rs./ kg) @ 5 % Commission rate charged at wholesale level @ 7 % (Rs./Kg) based upon wholesale level prices Total Marketing Cost (Rs./Kg,) 12.69 4.98 9.43 7.49 7.63 8.80 2.98 0.60 1.96 1.40 1.40 1.75 2.13 0.43 1.40 1.00 1.00 1.25 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

4.7. Structure marketing margin between farmers and wholesale level (Delhi Mandi) (Table ).

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Transportation F&V Marketing Samiti CHIRAG Commission at wholesale level Wastage at wholesale level

Within the marketing cost, the share of transportation, charges by F&V Marketing Samiti (for storage, sorting, grading operations), charges by CHIRAG (service charges and loading, unloading charges for wholesale level), wastages at wholesale level and commission rate charged to farmer was analysed for wholesale level (Table ). In all the cases, transportation cost (highest in Cabbage @ 56.43 % of the total marketing cost) contributes most to the total marketing cost this was followed by service of sorting, grading, weighing, storage offered by F&V marketing samiti and commission rate charged at wholesale level contributes mostly to the total marketing cost. In case of transportation, land is fragmented and at lower level than roadside in most of the cases. Farmers have to bring their produce at road level through animals (produce loaded on animals) and for transportation from road upto wholesale level charges remains same whether volume of produce is there or not. Therefore per kg transportation charges remained high, as previously mentioned this is known as Death Freight by CHIRAG because of high marketing cost due to transportation.

4.8. Price Mapping for Off-season vegetables under CHIRAG model (From Farmers Field to Wholesale level (Delhi Mandi)

FARMER

SORTING, GRADING, PACKING

TRANSPORT

WHOLESALE

CROP 2.98 2.81 42.50

Pea

Price Received

30.31

(Rs./Kg.) 7.01 6.61 15.06

Share of end

71.32

price (%) 0.60 2.81 8.50

Cabbage

Price Received

4.70

(Rs./Kg.) 7.06 33.06 4.59

Share of end

55.29

price (%) 1.96 2.81 28.00

Cauliflower

Price Received

19.39

(Rs./Kg.) 7.00 10.04 13.71

Share of end

69.25

price (%) 1.40 2.81 20.00

French Bean

Price Received

12.46

(Rs./Kg.) 7.00 14.05 16.65

Share of end

62.30

price (%) 1.40 2.81 20.00

Tomato

Price Received

13.77

(Rs./Kg.) 7.00 14.05 10.10

Share of end

68.85

price (%) 1.75 2.81 25.00

Capsicum

Price Received

16.23

(Rs./Kg.) 7.00 11.24 16.84

Share of end

64.92

price (%)

Price received by farmers after deduction of input cost, Transportation Cost (Animal cart) and commission charged at wholesale level (7 %) and for services rendered by F&V

Marketing Samiti and CHIRAG is highest in pea (71.32 %) and lowest in cabbage (55.29%).

4.9. SWOT Analysis CHIRAG Model

Strength: The model runs on cluster basis (through F&V marketing samitis) where farmers are the members and extension services provided by CHIRAG in terms of post harvest management practices to be followed (grading, sorting as per market requirement) and price discovery of different off season vegetables through display of rates and demand-supply assessment in advance to the farmers. The NGO acts as an aggregator and marketing support unit for F&V procurement from the farmers and linked farmers to wholesale markets (Delhi) and organized retailers for getting better prices. The NGO pays farmers income to female members and also maintains complete documentation w.r.t. production, procurement quantity, prices, market information related aspects.

Weakness: The NGO only procures A grade produce which comprises around 30-40 % of the total production of the farmers. The NGO pay prices to the farmers based upon the prevailing market rates of Haldwani mandi and Delhi mandi while they do marketing upto the level of organized retailers. High transportation cost (death freight) is one of the main drawback in the region as volume of procurement of A grade produce is low while charges for truckload remains same.

Opportunity: More and more numbers of farmers could be associated with F&V marketing samitis and CHIRAG. This will increase the volume of the produce and due to various extension services offered by CHIRAG; quality of the produce (more and more conversion of B and C grade to A grade produce) could also be improved. There is need to strengthen the F&V marketing samitis and role of farmers in the samitis. Dissemination of market information to farmers of prices of A grade produce sent to organized retailers could further improve farmers profit margin. Also crop insurance practices are already followed in the region in apple and potato, this could be further enhanced to off-season vegetables grown in the region.

Threat: Viability of the model to run on sustainable basis in the absence of NGO (CHIRAG) is doubtful. In the past also, in the absence of NGO, functioning of samitis crippled and only two samitis were managed to run independently out of 12 samitis.

j.

Value Chain Analysis for different Off-Season Vegetables of Lamagara and Dhauladave Blocks of district Almora of Uttrakhand (ULIP, Almora Model)

5.1. General Information Off season vegetable production is one of the sub-sector identified under Uttrakhand Livelihood Improvement Project of Govt. Of Uttrakhand where main focus is given on supporting input facilities (provision of quality seeds, polyhouse cultivation, availability of irrigation facilities etc) to farmers for better production of OSV. The OSV project is being run by NGOs (RICE and GRASS) in Naini and Motiabatha cluster.

Figure 23. Ajeevika programme

Blocks Covered: Lamagara and Dhauladave Blocks No. Of villages: 15 Markets: Local consumption, Almora, Haldwani

Table 15. Basic details related to crop production and post harvest operations S.No . Pea Cabbage Cauliflower French Bean Av. no. of farmers involved in OffSeason Vegetable Cultivation Av. Land devoted to offseason (nalis per crop) Ha./crop 24.50 49.00 20.40 28.00 7 7 6 7 175 350 170 200 Tomato Capsicum Particulars Crops

Av. Yield (t/ha.) Production volume (t) Harvesting time

7.00

8.54

5.16

9.40

171.50

418.46

105.226

263.20

July August

July August

July August

July August

Hybrid / Improved variety

Arkel

Krishna, Varun,

Anupama

Himsona

Post harvest operations followed At farm level At wholesale level Post harvest losses (%) At farm level At wholesale level Post harvest losses reason Moistur e loss, Fungal rot during rains Packing Gunny Bag (light material ) Packing capacity (Kg)/ unit 23.00 30.00 35.00 20 .00 Jute Bag Jute Bag Wooden box Moisture loss Moisture loss 5 5 5 5 Grading (A, B, C)

Table 15 showed production volume of OSV in the region. Pea, cabbage, French bean and tomato are the main crops under ULIPS, Almora programme.

5.2. Off-season vegetables value chain mapping

INPUTS
CONSUMPTION

PRODUCTION

TRADE

MARKETING

Off-season vegetable farmers Local market Consumers & Directly by farmers (very few) Almora Market

Local Traders

Credit Institutions (Kisan Credit Card, Banks)

Traders Haldwani Mandi

VC Supporter

VC Operator

Informal business relation (Product)

Informal business relation (Information)

5.3. Marketing Channel Followed

Farmers Local Traders Wholesalers Retailers Consumers

Farmers Local Traders Retailers Consumers

5.4. Description of value chains members 5.4.1. Off-season vegetable growers Through direct observation and discussion with farmers, the results showed that: Average area under off-season vegetable production per farmer is around 6-7 nalis/ farmer (50 nalis = 1 ha.). Farmers follow the cultivation procedure as sowing of seeds, using fertilizers, spraying of pesticide and fungicides and harvesting of produce at the end. Farmers are not doing any primary post harvest operations. Lack of irrigation facility is the main drawback in production of off season vegetables. Transportation cost of produce is high. Farmers mainly do cultivation of potato besides off season vegetables in the region.

5.4.2. Local Traders He is the main link between farmers and traders in Haldwani and Almora. They charges Rs.2/ packing unit and per cent commission on selling of produce.

5.4.3 Transporters Transporters act as one of the main link between production area and market. Transportation is mainly done at two levels: Produce loaded on animal (av. Charges @ Rs. 100/ 100 kg produce) Since the production is scattered and volumes are low, transportation is done by Jeeps and when volumes are high than by trucks (av. Charges @ Rs. 40 per 100 kg produce).

5.4.4. Wholesalers Farmers sends produce to haldwani wholesalers during production time through local traders.

5.4.5. Retailers Retailers are present at three levels: i) ii) iii) Local market consumption (around 10 km from production area) Almora market (around 70 km from production area) Haldwani market

The interventions by NGOs in the off season vegetables under ULIPS, Almora programme is at nascent stage and focus is mainly on providing input services such as polyhouse facilities, irrigation facilities, seed production activities etc. The production is scattered but potential is good for off season vegetable

production. High transportation cost and presence of traders (some farmers are under debt of these traders) in the value chain are the main bottlenecks. Local markets and Almora market provides good marketing platform for off season vegetables in the region that holds promising future markets besides tie-up with organized retailers for getting better prices to farmers.

CHAPTER 4: CONSTRAINTS/ OPPORTUNITIES AND CONCLUSION I. Constraints

Different models of off-season vegetables are being operated differently by various stakeholders (NGOs, entrepreneur, Govt.) and have different markets. One of the production constraints in most of the models is low volume of production of OSV due to poor availability of quality inputs, lack of irrigation facility, climatic vagaries (drought/ heavy rainfall/ hail storms), pests and disease problems etc. In case of marketing costs, transportation cost is one of the main constraints that increases the total marketing cost in most of the models, while in some models, commission rate charged at various levels from production to marketing adds up to high marketing cost. Most of the farmers in the models are not aware of the importance of sorting and grading operations. Where farmers are doing grading, they are getting better prices but not comparable to organized retail markets. Lack of market information amongst farmers is also one of the main constraints in the value chain of OSV. Farmers are not aware of the prices of the produce in other wholesale market (other than state) and at organized retail level. In terms of OSV, pea and capsicum are the two main crops where farmers shares in end prices are low.

II.

Opportunities

Since most of the region is good for off-season vegetables production, improving the farmers awareness level regarding varieties, scientific crop management practices, and primary processing practices could improve the production of OSV and reduce the wastage of OSV produce. Pea and capsicum are two OSV which could fetch higher prices in the market; therefore there is a need to improve the production of these two crops during OSV production time. Proper systems need to be developed to reduce the transportation cost to minimum. Existence of Farmers Interest Groups/ Farmers Federation/ F&V Marketing Samiti could provide opportunity to strengthen the farmers group and converted into producer company/ federation/ cooperative so that farmers could be the main beneficiary in the entire value chain and they could get better prices of their produce. In some of the models, farmers are directly/ indirectly connected to the retailers/ organized retailers, this will pave the way for better returns to the farmers in the long run if farmers produce uniform quality and graded OSV. The operator of these models should act as facilitators of the model so that win-win situation could be there for the farmer and the operator.

III.

Conclusion

The study on OSV value chain in the region reveals that OSV are the potential source of income to the farmers. Although there are production and marketing constraints in the OSV, great demand of these vegetables in the plains makes it a better choice. Each model of the OSV in the region has its own strength and weaknesses, there is a need to ascertain the best system of production and marketing that could fulfils the gaps in the value chain of the OSV in the region.

IV.

APPENDICES

List of Interviewees S.No.

1 2

Name
Mr. Pankaj Kumar Mr. Pratap

Particulars
Sr. Project Manager, CHEA, Nainital

Contact details
09412034374 09411198873

Singh Project Manager, CHEA, Nainital

Nagarkoti 3 Harish Chand Bhadani Lalit Mohan Sharma Dinesh Chand Prakash Chander Shyam Lal Dewan Ram Santosh Kumar Devender Chand Farmer, Dhari Block, Nainital 09758345426

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Farmer, Dhari Block, Nainital Farmer, Dhari Block, Nainital Farmer, Dhari Block, Nainital Farmer, Dhari Block, Nainital Farmer, Dhari Block, Nainital Farmer, Dhari Block, Nainital Aggregator/ Village level Commission Agent, Dhari Block Trader at Bhowali Market

09557664616

11

Ghanshyam & Company Shailesh Vijay Mahender Singh Om Prakash Pandey Mahesh Chand Bhatt Govind Singh Bist Pratap Singh Mohan Karonga

05942-220052; 09412085052

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

CHIRAG, Simayal CHIRAG, Simayal Secretary, F&V Marketing Samiti, Simayal Member, CHIRAG, Suyalbari Farmer, Suyalbari Secretary, F&V Marketing Samiti, Suyalbari Farmer, Shama, Bageshwar Singh Secretary, Shama Federation, Bageshwar

09917581231 09412348432 09837686158 09412943579 09411300011 09758916873 09411327518 09458603473

20 21 22

Kunwar Singh Lokpal Karonga Harish Chandra Singh

Farmer, Shama, Bageshwar Farmer, Liti, Bageshwar Farmer, Liti, Bageshwar

09410920829 09458342005

23 24 25 26

Shyam Singh Khem Ram Arya Yashpal Singh Harish Bhadani

Farmer, Liti, Bageshwar Horticulture Department, Shama, Bageshwar Ex-Secretary, Shama Fed., Bageshwar 09410163646 05963-223546 09758345426

Chander Farmer, Paharpani

27 28 29 30 31

Riyas Ahmed Mangal Singh Rawat Gopal Bisht Dr. Suresh Matwal Dheeraj Nigaltiya

Manager, ULIPS, Almora Group Coordinator, ULIPs, Almora Block Coordinator, ULIPs, Almora Manager, Technical Services, ULIPs, Almora

09412162034 09456723314 09410159129 09412094613 09758078545

Singh Farmer, Niglat

32 33 34

Bhuwan Pandey Lali Mehra Deewan Mehra

Farmer, Niglat Farmer, Niglat

Singh Farmer, Niglat

35 36 37 38 39

Govind Ram Pramod Kumar Pant Tarun Ram Chander Rajender Sharma

B-47, Trader, Haldwani Mandi C-44, Trader, Haldwani Mandi B-49, Trader, Haldwani Mandi Packer, Haldwani Mandi Prasad Surveyor, APMC, Haldwani

09259440345

09369044030

40 41

Suri Roadlines Jagdamba

Transporter, Haldwani Transporter, Haldwani

09837066204 09837206830