SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORCHARDISTS AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH THE VARIOUS MARKETING CHANNELS ADOPTED IN THE MARKETING OF APPLE - AN ANALYSIS OF DISTRICT KULGAM, JAMMU AND KASHMIR

In the present study, the researcher estimates the association between the different socioeconomic variables and the various marketing channels adopted in the marketing of apple at the household level in Kulgam, one of the districts of Jammu and Kashmir. In the past few decades, agricultural sector in the whole state and particularly in the district of Kulgam has witnessed a heavy shift in the cropping pattern from food crops to non-food crops (cash-crops). The horticultural sector has been playing an important role in the State, largely by contributing to the State Economy and turns to be the source of livelihood for nearly thirty-three lakh people, but the paddy production on the other hand has shown an opposite trend. Paddy land is getting changed into the horticultural land, as the farmers find it to be more remunerative. Kulgam, which was once the major producer of rice in the State, and was known to be the “Rice Bowl of Kashmir”, is now among the least producers of rice. Farmers witnessed that sticking only to the water-intensive crops proved to be non- beneficial and they willingly shifted to the cash crops, like: apple, almond, and walnut. Chi-Square test has been used to estimate the association between the different socioeconomic variables and the various marketing channels adopted by the orchardists in the marketing of apple.