MARKETING CHANNEL, PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE AND FARM PROFITABILITY IN VEGETABLES MARKETING: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM MICRO DATA IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Current study was conducted during 2020 by Department of Economics, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan to study evaluate the marketing channel of vegetables in Punjab pertaining to farm’s profitability and the factors determining this profit based on primary data collected from 100 farmers each for 4 selected vegetables . Data were collected through structured questionnaire from 36 villages out of 7 cities of Faisalabad division while from 28 villages out of 5 cities of Bahawalpur division through purposive sampling technique. Gross margin analysis and mean regression was done to estimate the determinants of profit both at division level and for the pooled data. The gross margin per acre was calculated at Rs.171,676 for cucumber, Rs. 171,649 for green chilies, Rs. 315,229 for tomatoes and Rs. 33,002 for onions. The regression results showed age, farming experience, credit and storage facilities, production cost and commission to the middle man as significantly contributing factors in profit while the choice of production technique appeared to be particularly depending on the educational qualification of selected farmers. The peak age that yielded maximum profit was calculated at 49 and 42 years in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur division, respectively. Experience of farmers was significantly increased in profit. The commission to agent surpasses all other payments that farmers incurred during marketing process. The margin was around 39% and 33% of total cost for cucumber and chilies in Faisalabad while 34% and 43% percent for tomatoes and onion in Bahawalpur. So the enactment of farmers with middle man for the sale of crop was due to heavy reliance on them for loans; around 80 percent famers in Faisalabad while about 40 percent in Bahawalpur sought loans from middle man. The study suggested that healthy competition among farmers by providing them adequate storage facilities, sufficient credit, perfect market information and education could contribute positively in adopting advanced modes of production to minimize the production and marketing cost.