Marketing behaviour of the banana growers of Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu

Introduction

Banana (Musa paradisiaca) is one of the most significant fruit crops grown in tropical regions such as India, China, Brazil, and the Philippines. It belongs to the Musaceae family and the Musa genus, under the order Zingiberales. The name "banana" is derived from the Arabic term banyan, meaning "finger", reflecting the shape of the fruit. Native to the tropical regions of South and Southeast Asia, bananas are mainly cultivated for their fruit, though they are also used for fibre extraction and as ornamental plants. Despite their tree-like appearance due to their tall and sturdy structure, bananas do not have a true woody stem; instead, the upright stem is a pseudostem formed by tightly packed leaf bases. Bananas are often referred to as a "health fruit" because they are rich in essential vitamins like C, D, and E, along with beta-carotene and vitamin A, making them particularly beneficial for women over 40 seeking healthier skin. They also contain important minerals such as potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe), and are a rich source of carbohydrates. Notably, bananas are especially valued for their high potassium content. Varieties with yellow and orange flesh are also excellent sources of provitamin A and carotenoids. Popular banana varieties for dessert use include Grand Naine, Robusta, Dwarf Cavendish, Rasthali, Vayal Vazhai, Poovan, Nendran, Red Banana, Karpooravalli, Udhayam, CO1, Matti, Sannachenkadali, and Ney Poovan. Among these, Cavendish varieties are the most favored for export. Culinary banana types (used for cooking) include Monthan, Nendran, Vayal Vazhai, Ash Monthan, and Chakkia. In hilly regions, varieties such as Virupakshi, Sirumalai, Namarai, Red Banana, Manoranjitham (Santhana Vazhai), and Ladan are commonly grown.

Research methodology

The present study was conducted in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. The respondents were selected from 6 villages of two blocks namely, Cuddalore and Kurinjipadi of Cuddalore district. Proportionate random sampling procedure was followed for select the respondents from the following 6 villages. Thus, a total of 120 respondents were selected as a sample for the study. The data were collected with the help of well-structured and pre-tested interview schedule. www.extensionjournal.com

Result and Discussion

Marketing behaviour of banana growers Marketing behaviour is the capacity or tendency of an individual farmer to identify the market trend to sell the produce for greater returns. The results of the analysis with regard to overall marketing behaviour and item-wise marketing behaviour are presented as follows:

Overall marketing behaviour

The distribution of respondents according to their marketing behaviour is given in the Table 2.

Item wise marketing behaviour

The item-wise marketing behaviour of respondents is presented in table 3.

Time of Sale

According to Table-3, all the banana farmers (100per cent) sold their produce immediately after harvest. This observation aligns with the study by Janusia (2017) [5] , who found that most farmers disposed of their produce soon after harvesting.

Packing Methods

A significant majority (73.33per cent) of farmers used woodena boxes for packing bananas, while 26.67per cent relied on gunny bags. The preference for wooden boxes is likely due to their superior ventilation and suitability for pre-cooling, which helps in maintaining fruit quality.

Transportation Methods

Lorries were the most commonly used mode of transport, employed by 60.83per cent of the respondents. Additionally, 30.83per cent used tempos and 8.34per cent used city buses www.extensionjournal.com to transport their produce.

Place of Sale

A substantial portion (62.50per cent) of the farmers sold their bananas in nearby towns, followed by 29.17per cent who sold them in local markets. Only 8.33per cent transported their produce to distant towns. This trend supports the findings of Prathapsingh (2012), who noted a similar preference for nearby town markets among banana growers.

Mode of Sale

Half of the respondents (50per cent) sold their produce to local merchants. This was followed by sales to retailers (21.67per cent), commission agents (9.17per cent), through regulated markets (8.33per cent), wholesalers (5.83per cent), and contractors (5per cent).

Conclusion

Less than half of the respondents (43.33 per cent) had a medium level of overall marketing behaviour, followed by low (29.17 per cent) and high (27.50 per cent) levels of overall marketing behaviour. A high (100 per cent) of the respondents selected the time of sale on the criteria of soon after harvest. Nearly half of the respondents (60.83 per cent) of them used a lorry as their mode of transport. The majority (62.50 per cent) of the banana growers sold their produce nearby town. The sale was through local merchants as mentioned by 50.00 per cent of them, followed by more than two-fifths (21.67 per cent) of the respondents sold through retailers.

References

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