A STUDY ON MARKET POTENTIAL, FARMERS’ BUYING BEHAVIOUR, AND SATISFACTION LEVEL TOWARDS WATER SOLUBLE FERTILIZERS IN ANAND AND NARMADA DISTRICTS OF GUJARAT

This study was conducted between February 2016 and May 2016 on a sample of 200 farmers selected on convenience from 20 villages of four talukas of Anand and Narmada districts of Gujarat. Primary data were collected by survey method on pretested semi-structured schedules, and appropriate tools were used to analyze data. The findings suggested that about 90 per cent farmers in Narmada district used Water Soluble Fertilizers (WSFs). More than 80 per cent farmers used Calcium Nitrate and NPK (19:19:19) grade of WSFs. The annual market potential of water soluble fertilizers in Anand and Narmada districts came out to the tune of Rs 14 crore and Rs. 50 crore, respectively. In Anand, GSFC was leading company and in Narmada, Nagarjuna was leading in the sales of WSFs. Most farmers were using WSFs for more than seven years. Around 31 per cent farmers in Anand and 59 per cent farmers in Narmada District used drip irrigation method on their farms. On the other hand, 52 per cent farmers in Anand and 18 per cent farmers in Narmada did foliar application of WSFs. About 55 per cent farmers preferred to purchase WSFs from local retail shop. At the time of purchase past experience highly affected the farmers. Satisfaction level towards using WSFs was high among farmers as they found that WSFs application gives high yield, and small quantities of these fertilizers are sufficient, making it economic for the farmers.