WHAT IS AGRICULTURAL MARKETING?

The National Commission on Agriculture defined agricultural marketing as a process which starts with a decision to produce a saleable farm commodity and it involves all aspects of market structure of system, both functional and institutional, based on technical and economic considerations and includes pre and post- harvest operations, assembling, grading, storage, transportation and distribution. The Indian council of Agricultural Research defined involvement of three important functions, namely (a) assembling (concentration) (b) preparation for consumption (processing) and (c) distribution. Agricultural marketing can be defined as the commercial functions involved in transferring agricultural products consisting of farm, horticultural and other allied products from producer to consumer. Agricultural marketing also reflect another dimension from supply of produce from rural to rural and rural to urban and from rural to industrial consumers. In the olden days selling of agricultural produce was easy as it was direct between the producer to the consumer either for money or for barter. It brief, it was selling not marketing. In the modern world it became challenging with the latest technologies and involvement of middlemen, commission agents who keep their margins and move the produce further. As it is well known more the number of mediatory more will be the costs as each transaction incurs expenses and invites profits. Ultimately when it comes to the producer the cost of the produce goes up steep. In the entire process of marketing the producer gets the lowest price and the ultimate consumer pays the highest as the involvement of more middlemen in the entire distribution process. There are several complexities involved in agricultural marketing as agricultural produce involves element of risk like perish ability and it again depends on the type of produce. If the agriculture produce happens to be a seasonal one it involves another kind of risk. Like wise, there are several risk elements involved in agricultural marketing. The pricing of the produce depends on factors like seasonality and perish ability and it depends on the demand and supply also. And all these are interwoven and ultimately make a deep impact on agricultural marketing.

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS: There are several challenges involved in marketing of agricultural produce. There is limited access to the market information, literacy level among the farmers is low, multiple channels of distribution that eats away the pockets of both farmers and consumers. The government funding of farmers is still at nascent stage and most of the small farmers still depend on the local moneylenders who are leeches and charge high rate of interest. There are too many vultures that eat away the benefits that the farmers are supposed to get. Although we say that technology have improved but it has not gone to the rural levels as it is confined to urban areas alone. There are several loopholes in the present legislation and there is no organized and regulated marketing system for marketing the agricultural produce. The farmers have to face so many hardships and have to overcome several hurdles to get fair and just price for their sweat.

RURAL MEDIA Urban consumers shop daily and have 365 opportunities a year to switch brands while the rural purchasers who buy their goods in weekly haats have only 54. Attempts to reach rural consumers, even once during the purchase cycle to ensure repeat purchase, make point of purchase advertising and trade push indispensable. This requires a significant reorientation in the

allocation of funds across media. For example, outdoor advertising accounts for over 7% of all media expenditures in India, while it only accounts for 0.8% in USA. Rural buyers living in small isolated groups distributed across vast distances have limited access to the broadcast media. The existence of a multiplicity of languages and varying level of illiteracy complicates the task of communication further. To overcome some of these challenges, Unilever pioneered the concept of video vans that travel from village to village screening films in the local language, interspersed with advertisements for Unilevers products. The company also provides product usage demonstrations to the captive audience because written instructions on the pack may be illegible to the consumers who are either illiterate or do not understand the dialect. Where mass media is used, variability can, at times, back fire. On reentering India in the 1990s, Coca Cola decided to reinvest massively on a TV advertising campaign. It opted for slick commercials, rich in colour, with high production values, but the effect was somewhere lost on a market where 60% of all TVs are still black and white. However, in the recent past, the improved technology has allowed the cable and satellite networks to increase their reach across the countryside thus exposing a rural consumer to a lifestyle that was beyond his dreams. And this increasing awareness has led to a significant change in his buying behaviour and consumption patterns. While the urban market is getting increasingly competitive and saturated, the rural market is blooming with increase in the disposable incomes of the households, thus promising a far better scope for growth for marketers. Hence, with the shifting dynamics of the present-day market situation, now it is the turn of the rural consumers to dictate the terms. And this reinforces the need for marketers to formulate a well-designed strategy to feel the pulse and to tackle the mystic rural marketing. Selecting The Media Mix :-TV :With he increase in coverage and increase in TV ownership in rural areas ,TV is gradually becoming the prime media for rural communication . Cinema : -The cinema is a useful medium in rural context . most large and medium villages have one or more cinema house. Also, more than one-third of all rural people do see cinema as a matter of regular lifestyle. Advertisement films , short feature films, with disguised advertisement message, and documentaries that combine knowledge and advertisements, can be employed for rural communication. It has been estimated that 33 per cent of the total cinema earnings in the country come from rural India. Radio :-The radio is well -established medium in rural areas. A big expansion in broadcasting facilities has taken place in the country over the years. The availability of radio sets has also expanded. While radio as a medium cannot match TV in potency and effectiveness, in the existing context ,it can certainly play a significant role in rural communication. Print media too has some scope :The role of print media is certainly limited in the rural context. Even the remotest rural parts have a small group, which is literate. Moreover, while the group may be numerically small , its member usually happen to be the opinion leaders , influencing the purchasing behaviour of the large segment of the rural consumers. so, it would be unwise to assume that the print media has no scope at all in the rural areas . Moreover, the younger generation in the rural areas is comparatively more literate. With the new trend of increasing rural literacy , the scope for using print media in rural communication will increase further.

Outdoor:The outdoors , which include hoardings, wall paintings, illumination and other displays, also lend well for rural communication . In fact , many companies are using the outdoors in the rural communication mix. POPs ( point of purchase) :The POPs Point of purchase promotional tools- are also quite useful in the rural markets. The POPs meant for the rural market should be specially designed to suit the rural requirements. Symbols, Pictures, and colours must be liberally in POPs meant for the rural market. Colour is of particular significance . As a general rule ,the rural people love bright colours. The effective Communicator utilize such cues Profile of the Rural Consumer 1)Low Literacy levels : It is estimated that the literacy level in Rural India is 45% as compared to 52% for the whole country. The literacy rate is low so this comes in way for promotion. Therefore marketer cannot use Print media and Hoardings, he has to adopt Product Demonstrations. 2)Low Income Levels : Though Rural incomes have grown in the past decade the per capita incomes of rural consumer are low compared to urban counterpart. A large part of the income is spent on basic necessities, leaving a smaller portion for other consumer goods. 3)Location pattern of rural consumers : Indias urban population is concentrated in3,200 cities and towns, whereas the rural population is scattered over 638,667 villages. Of these, only 6,300 have a population of more than 5000 persons. More than three lakh villages are in the category of 500 people or less (55 percent of the total), and more than1.5 lakh villages have 200 people or less( 25 percent of the total). Rural consumers therefore are scattered over a large area, unlike their Urban counterparts who are highly concentrated. 4)Reference Groups : Typically, in a rural area the reference groups are primary health workers, doctors, teachers and panchayat members. The village trader or the grocer, commonly called Baniya or Mahajan may also be an important influence in decision making of the rural customers. This is because the trader extends credit to the farmers. Today, another person who is considered a change agent is the rural banks officer or manager 5)Occupation : Typically, in a rural area the principal occupation is farming, trading, crafts, and other odd jobs like plumbing, electric works etc. There are also primary heath workers and teachers. The different types of farming activities include growing crops, cattle and poultry farming. The basis for differentiation is obviously the size and ownership of land. Consumption patterns differ according to income levels. 6)Media Habits

: Rural people are fond of music and folklore. In rural Maharashtra a popular form of entertainment is the Tamasha. Rural folk listen to the brave deeds of their hero Shivaji. Likewise, in Uttar Pradesh, Nautanki entertains the Rural customer. And then there are T.V, Radio and Video films. 7)Other variables : Culture, language, religion, caste and social customs are some other important variables for profiling a rural consumer. Rural consumers have a lot of inhabitations and tend to be rigid in their behavior. A company has to take intense care while targeting them

Segmentation of Rural Market 2. Marketer can target a market with two broad strategies. Mass Market Strategy Market Segmentation strategy Market Segmentation is the process of identifying small Markets that exists within a large market . 3. Levels of Market Segmentation Mass Marketing or Undifferentiated Marketing e.g. Ruf & Tuf Jeans, Segment Marketing - Cars Niche Marketing specialize to a narrowly defined customer group Temple jewellery for South Indian women wanting to take part in cultural programmes Local Marketing Market around sector 44 Individual Marketing One to One Marketing Mass customization ability to prepare on a mass basis individually designed products 4. Why is segmentation useful ? Segmentation helps firm tailor their marketing programs focuses an actionable and accessible set of the market. cuts of wasteful expenditures on unwanted consumers matches needs and wants of specific groups of buyers to firms offerings stimulates demands through multi-products for multi-segments resource allocation to segment specific marketing mix activities will be made more efficient Segmentation is a way to plan rather than explain 5. Bases Geographic - Rural / Urban; metropolis/city/town/village; modern retail stores/kirana stores / mandis/ haats Demographic Age, Family Size (nuclear or joint ), gender, Income, Occupation, Education, SEC, religion, race, Nationality, social class Psychographic Use of Psychology and demographics Lifestyle (AIO) Nike, Benetton, * Personality Femina woman of substance * Values HiDesign leather accessories consumers who hold the value style and elegance in a classical sense Behavioral Segmentation next slide 6. Behavioral Segmentation - based on buyers knowledge of, attitude towards, use of, or response to a product Occasions Marriage, Birth Archies and Hallmark cards Benefits In soaps - Dettol antiseptic, Lux Beauty User Status Non users, first time users, potential users, regular user Usage rate Light users, medium users, heavy users Buyer Readiness State Cold Prospect, Hot Prospect Loyalty status Hard Core Loyals, Split Loyals, Shifting Loyals, Switchers Attitude enthusiastic, positive, indifferent, negative, hostile