Effect of Market Development Activity on Sales of Fast-Mix Weedicide in Hoshiarpur Region Project Report

Submitted To The

G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology Pantnagar (U. S. Nagar) Uttrakhand, India

By Sudhanshu Ranjan ID- 42680

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

Master of Business Administration (Agribusiness)

July, 2013

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Where I am standing now is for those hands which were stretched towards me when I took my first step. Diction is inadequate to express my feeling for the love affection, care and blessings of my father and mother. The principle and the ideology I have learned from them is behind every single success of mine. I express my sincere gratitude to "Almighty" who helped me in this great endeavour by making so many great minds to guide me and so many loving hearts to enlighten my path. I really feel honored and blessed to be a student of this college i.e. College of Agribusiness Management, Pantnagar. It has provided me a platform to nurture all the skills and techniques required for doing this project effectively and efficiently. I consider myself fortunate and greatly privileged to have work under the supervision and guidance of Mr. N K Singh, Assistant Professor, CABM and chairman of my Advisory Committee. Words are inadequate to express my sincere and deepest feeling of gratitude for his benevolent guidance, meticulous supervision, whole hearted encouragement and critical appreciation in execution of my work. It is great pleasure to place my deep sense of gratitude to Dr. Devendra Kumar Professor & Dean College of Agribusiness Management, Pantnagar. I express my deep sense of gratitude to members of my Advisory Committee Mr. Saurabh Singh and Dr. Mukesh Pandey of College of Agribusiness Management, Pantnagar.I also expresses my sincere gratitude to Dr. M. L. Sharma and Dr. Ashutosh Singh and other college staff of CABM. I express my veneration to Sinochem India Co Pvt Ltd and the employees who help me on this project. Some friends are there who never wait for thanks but just add meaning to life and the names like Kamlakar, Ram, Binayak and Yogita belongs to this category. of company

Pantnagar August, 2013

Sudhanshu Ranjan Author

CERTIFICATE

We, the undersigned members of the Advisory Committee of Mr. Sudhanshu Ranjan, ID42680, a candidate for the degree of Master of Business Administration (Agribusiness), agree that the Project Report entitled Effect of Market Development Activity on sales of Fast-Mix Weedicide in Hoshiarpur Region may be submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree.

( Nirdesh Kumar Singh) Chairman (Project Advisory Committee)

( Saurabh Singh) Member

( Mukesh Pandey) Member

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The present study revealed that 30 percent of farmers are having small land holding, 28 percent belongs to semi-medium land holding category, 30 percent belongs to medium size land holding category and 12 percent of large farmers category. It was found that every farmer was literate and 70 percent of farmers have at least High school degree. The result shows that the 45 percent of farmers are having annual income of Rs.2,00,000 to Rs. 5,00,000 followed by 23 percent farmers having annual income of Rs. 5,00,000 and above. Hoshiarpur region is famous for its intensive Poplar plantation and Citrus orchards. Majority of farmer have adopted cropping pattern of maize- Potato- Sugarcane, Maize-pea Sugarcane and Paddy-Wheat - Sugarcane. There are two types of weed control methods practiced in the region like Mechanical and Chemical. The study shows that 72 percent farmers trusts on chemical weed control measures. Lasso is also a Brand of Sinochem Company and because of that 38 percent people knows about the company and 62 percent does not. According to the research during the last kharif season Machete was the leading weedicide contributing 32 percent of share followed by Butaveer 14 percent and 12 percent of Topstar. Rifit is a brand of Pretilachlor and it is contributing 10 percent of market share. It is true that the promotional tools used by the companies are having significant effect on sales, but according to the study, farmers have complete faith on the dealers. Dealers have influenced 54 percent of farmers to buy a particular brand. The reason for choosing a particular brand is highly depended upon quality by 44 percent and price by 26 percent. All farmers allowed this demonstration and they showed good response to the test. Most of the farmers were excited and very excited but 22 percent showed average response for the Beaker test. After showing demonstration the farmers also said they will use Fast-Mix in present season. A brand position map was designed to see the position of different brand in the market. The Map shows that Machete, Topstar and Rifit are the leading brand in the market. According to the dealers Topstar is the best brand Followed by machete and Rifit. When we talk about the effect of market development activity on sales that can only measured by the actual sales of the product and the product showed a growth of 23.63 percent in the season .

1. INTRODUCTION
Weedicides are not a new name in the pesticide industries; they are being used since decades. In paddy crop weeds are a major problem and thats why farmers are now using high doses of chemical in their field. Thats why study of Effect of Market Development Activity on Sales of Fast-Mix Weedicide in Hoshiarpur Region was done to know about the present market situation of weedicide market and to observe the effect of promotional activity on sales. 1.1 Hoshiarpur Introduction Hoshiarpur is a city and a municipal council in Hoshiarpur district in the Indian state of Punjab. The district of Hoshiarpur has a mild climate due to the abundance of hilly terrain and the sizeable forest cover. Temperatures drop as low as -5C in the winter. The pattern of seasons in the district is similar to that of other districts in Punjab, except slight variations at the terminals. The year is divided into three main seasons. The summer season begins in April, and lasts until the end of July. The rainy season starts in the beginning of July and lasts until the end of September. The winter season starts when rains are over in October, and lasts until the end of March. May and June are the hottest months of the year in Hoshiarpur (during which time the temperature can rise over 45 C). The local climate here is suitable for citrus fruit cultivation, and a large area is dedicated to this crop. Hoshiarpur has always been known for the distinctive variety of mangoes. The total avg. rain falls in district is 1125 mm .Broadly speaking 75 percent of the rainfall is experienced in the period July to September, whereas 15 Percent rainfall is experienced in the winter months of January and February are under the influence of western disturbances in the Persian Gulf. Topographically, the District can be divided into three broad regions mainly on basis of soil crop-climate complex. 1.1.1 Flood-plains; Paddy-Maize-Wheat This is most fertile area of this district formed by Beas in North-West. More than 580 Sq. Km area is under cultivation in these plains. It covers about 17.00 percent of the geographical area of the District. It has wide-spread irrigation facilities. Paddy-Wheat followed by maize-wheat is the main rotations of this region.

1.1.2 Kandi Belt; Maize-Wheat The Kandi area is located at the foot of Shivaliks and covers the submountaneous undulating plain with a slope of more than 16 meters per kilometer which progressively decreases towards west side of the district. There is acute shortage of water and this area faces high incidence of soil erosion which is caused by the rivulets (choes) passing through this region and are flooded during the rainy season. Soil of this region is poor and it constitutes 53% of total geographical area of this district. In Kandi area about 50% area is sown under rain fed conditions. Rainfall at the sowing time is a major factor influencing rise of fall in the sown area of this belt and this is the major cause of wide fluctuations in area and production of crops in the district. This region broadly covers Talwara, Bhunga and Hoshiarpur. Maize in Kharif and wheat in Paddy are the major crops of this region. 1.1.3 Bet Area: Maize-Wheat, Paddy-Wheat, Sugarcane Located on the beds of lower Shivalik, these are undulating plains with relatively low slope decreasing up to 4 meters per kilometers covers 30% area of the district. This is suitable for maize, sugarcane and paddy crops. 1.2 Market Development Activity Promotion tools have been considered as one of the most useful tools to influence sales volume in a short-term period of time. Promotions are considered as sales acceleration and maximizing tools. The impacts of price and promotions on which brand customer will choose, when they are willing to buy the product, and how much they are going to buy are significant. Three main advantages of sales promotion are triggering unplanned purchase, encouraging customers to purchase non promoted merchandises, accelerating the number of shopping trips to the store. Sales promotions are action-focused marketing events whose purpose is to have a direct impact on the behavior of the firms customers. Clearly, promotion has been considered one of the stimuli of brand-switching and repeat purchase. In agrochemicals industries the major promotional tools are printed literatures, farmers meetings, field demonstrations, free sampling, and TV advertisements, in store displays, hoardings and posters.

1.2.1 Field Demonstrations Field demo is one of the most effective ways that creates a long term impact. In field demo the field officer shows a demonstration of the product while comparing it with the competitors product thereby differentiating its product with others and showing the effect of the product on the crop and field. With this method the farmer clearly understands the concept behind working of the product and its effect.

1.2.2 Farmers Meeting Company Personnel local village level dealers and put the proposal to conduct farmer meeting in village. With the co-operation of farmers and dealer farmers meeting is conducted in the centre of village. Try to get maximum attention of farmers in meeting and build up strong reputation for company and product. Farmer meeting is a way to increase awareness about company and product among farmers. Invite farmer selected for field demonstration and give time to share their experience of using such product.

1.2.3 Printed Literatures Distribution of various literatures, which provides information about products range, product photos, pests and diseases that, can be controlled etc.

1.2.4 Van Campaigns Van campaigns consists of the product model that along with audio and poster displays conduct a strong campaigns that helps to promote the product on a wider basis. With the audio it is possible to convey the information regarding the product to many farmers in limited time in any given area. It is considered to be a very effective marketing tool as it attracts the farmers and grab their attention and tries to positions the product image and name very effectively in farmers mind and that too for long time.

1.2.5 In store Displays In store displays include posters, hoardings and flex displaying inside the stores that provide the necessary information regarding the product along with any schemes or offers on that product.

The posters and hoardings are designed in such a way to make the data clearly visible and understandable so that it attracts the farmers. 1.2.6 Newspaper and TVs Newspaper and TVs are considered to be an effective and impact creating media as they are the best source to convey the messages to the target customers.

1.3 Work already done Sivakumar et al. (1994) analyzed buying behavior of farmers with respect to pesticides, considering the factor influencing loyalty of farmer towards dealer and brand. Friends, neighbors and relatives were the major source of information about dealers. In case of brands, it was extension personnel of the department of agriculture. The price, quality and promotional strategies of the brand contributed significantly to brand loyalty. Credit availability, advertisement and price of products available with dealer contributed significantly to dealer loyalty. Krishna (1994) studied the effect of deal on knowledge of consumer purchase behavior. The author built a purchase quantity model to study the behavior of consumer who has knowledge of future price deals with that of those who do not. The result showed that the better and more accurate the information a consumer has the more consumers behavior will differ from the one who has no awareness of future deals. Beverland (2001) studied the level of brand awareness within the New Zealand market for ZESPRI kiwi fruit. The effectiveness of this branding strategy employed by kiwi fruit, New Zealand was studied. It is indicated that brand awareness could be increased through a relationship building programme involving targeted marketing and supply chain management Belch et al (2010) studied that sales promotion is an important tool in the marketers communication armory. This includes marketing efforts designed to generate immediate interest in purchasing a product or service. Sales promotions are direct inducements that offer an extra value or incentive for the product to the sales force, distributors, or the ultimate customer with the primary objective of creating an immediate sale. .

1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT Beaker test is a procedure to show the property of the chemical to mix with the water. In which we takes the sample of chemical, a beaker filled with water and dropper. In this we carefully drop the chemical in the water. The ability of chemical to mix/dissolve with water is very important. In agrochemical industry there are so many formulations like Emulsified Content (EC), Wettable Powder (WP), Active Ingredient (AI), and water based (E/W). The main objective of the test is to show the farmers the easy mixing nature of chemical with water. Most of the chemical in market is Emulsified Content (EC) based means that contains petroleum solvent which is sticky in nature. But it gets drain out when water overflows in field because it is lighter then water so they do not work properly because they need stagnate water for long time and Rice is a rainy season crop so the chances of maintaining a proper level of water is low. In that case the water based molecule like Butachlor E/W is very beneficial. It easily gets dissolved in water and can work in low water and also in high water logged condition. The awareness about the Fast-Mix is very low so that company wants to increase the market share by showing Beaker test to farmers.

1.5 OBJECTIVE The objectives of study are:1. To study weedicide usages pattern in Hoshiarpur region. 2. To study factors influencing farmers buying behavior towards weedicide. 3. To analyze the influence of beaker test on sales and Brand Positioning.

2. INDUSTRY DESCRIPTION
The agrochemicals industry is a significant industry for the Indian economy. India has to ensure food security for 1.21 billion populations while facing reduction in cultivable land resource. With increasing population, demand for food grains is increasing at a faster pace as compared to its production. This necessitates the use of pesticides. Moreover, every year, significant amount of crop yield is lost due to non usage of crop protection products. So the industry is bound to experience healthy growth rate in the years to come. A major boost to the agrochemical industry came with the success of the green revolution in the late sixties. India is the fourth largest producer of agrochemicals globally, after United States, Japan and China. The agrochemicals industry is a significant industry for the Indian economy. According to the report of Indian Pesticide Industry 2011 The Indian agrochemicals market grew at a rate of 11% from USD 1.22 billion in FY08 to an estimated USD 1.36 billion in FY09. Indias agrochemicals consumption is one of the lowest in the world with per hectare consumption of just 0.58 Kg compared to USA (4.5 Kg/ha) and Japan (11 Kg/ha). In India, paddy accounts for the maximum share of pesticide consumption, around 28%, followed by cotton (20%). According to the report of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Indian population is increasing and the per capita size of land decreasing, the use of pesticides in India has to improve further. Besides increasing in domestic consumption, the exports by the Indian Agrochemicals Industry can be doubled in the next four years if proper strategies and sophisticated technologies are adopted by the industry. In India, there are about 125 technical grade manufacturers (10 multinationals), 800 formulators, over 145,000 distributors. 60 technical grade pesticides are being manufactured indigenously. Technical grade manufacturers sell high purity chemicals in bulk (generally in drums of 200-250 Kg) to formulators. Formulators, in turn, prepare formulations by adding inert carriers, solvents, surface active agents, deodorants etc. These formulations are packed for retail sale and bought by the farmers. The Indian agrochemicals market is characterized by low capacity utilization. The total installed capacity in FY09 was 146,000 tons and total production was 85,000 tons leading to a low capacity utilization of 58% (Source FICCI). The industry suffers from high inventory (owing to seasonal & irregular demand on account of monsoons) and long credit periods to farmers, thus making operations working capital intensive. India due to its inherent strength of low-cost manufacturing and qualified low-cost manpower is a net

exporter of pesticides to countries such as USA and some European & African countries. Exports formed ~50% of total industry turnover in FY08 and have achieved a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 29% from FY04 to FY08. Globally, herbicides represent the largest group within agrochemicals. In India this is still not the case. Chemical weed control is slowly becoming one of the more important and reliable measures in weed management systems in India. In India, paddy accounts for the maximum share of pesticide consumption, around 28%, followed by cotton (20%). Indian population is increasing and the per capita size of land decreasing, the use of herbicides in India has to improve further. India produces 90,000 metric tons of pesticides a year. With over 400 million acres under cultivation and over 60% of the countrys population dependent on agriculture, the countrys economy depends on the agricultural sector to a substantial extent. India loses nearly 30% of its potential crop to insects, weeds and rodent attacks. The Pesticides industry plays a crucial role in protecting crops from damage by weeds, pests, insects and fungus, both before and after harvest. This helps to increase crop yields, which is important given the rate at which cultivable land is shrinking. According to the Rajesh Aggarwal, MD of Insecticides India "Farmers are getting higher minimum support prices (MSP) of crops than in the past, and they know how much they will lose if they don't prevent crops from pest or insect attacks. Also, as farm practices are improving, the use of pesticide will get a boost. During the last five-year Plan, through 2011-12, the government raised MSPs of various crops in the range of 29% to 107%. Moreover, India's per capita pesticide consumption of 600 gm is far below its major Asian peers 14 kg in China and 12 kg in Japan. The domestic market has immense growth potential because of the low level of consumption. With increasing focus on scaling up of productivity and preventing crop losses to feed a billion-plus population with limited land resources, the reliance on pesticide is only going to rise, industry executives said. According to an industry study, every one rupee spent on pesticide for the groundnut crop saves crop losses worth Rs 6. Similarly, the spending and benefit ratio in mustard is 1:12, while in paddy it is 1:7. Some industry executives said pesticide manufacturers are facing hard times as the data registration process for a molecule is cumbersome and takes a lot of time due to red tape. According to experts, currently, crops lost due to non-use of pesticides are estimated to be around USD 17 billion every year. With increasing focus on scaling up of productivity and preventing crop losses to feed a billion plus

population with limited land resources, the reliance of pesticides is only going to rise. India's agrochemicals consumption is one of the lowest in the world with per ha consumption of just 0.58 Kg compared to US (4.5 Kg/ha) and Japan (11 Kg/ha). The key reasons for low usage are low purchasing power of farmers, lack of awareness about crop protection benefits and poor reach and accessibility of crop protection chemicals. The domestic market is expected to grow at 8% annually till FY15. Exports are set to grow at a CAGR of 15% during the same period. Table 1: Production and Percentage of different types of Pesticides in World (Source USDA) Types of Pesticides World Market (in Million$) World Market (in %) 1. Herbicide 2. Insecticide 3. Fungicide 4. Other Total 14,118 8,763 6,027 2,848 31,756 44 28 19 9 100

In yield exploitation and stability in state agricultural production, the use of herbicides and insecticides has played a crucial role. The pest problem accentuated with the introduction of high yielding varieties of crops, intensive use of inputs and development of new cropping patterns. Crops like cotton, sugarcane, paddy, oilseeds and vegetables have shown greater reliance on pesticides. Problem of weeds also increased with increase in cropping intensity and fertilizer use particularly in irrigated areas like Punjab. Punjab farmers had used herbicides effectively in weed management of field crops particularly in crops like wheat, paddy, potato, etc. This resulted into tremendous increase in demand of herbicides over time. Table-2 Consumption of Pesticides in recent years Year 2007-08 2008-09 209-10 2010-11 2011-12 5900 5760 5745 5600 6100 (Source FICCI)

Consumption in Technical Grade (M.T)

2.1 Classification of Different Classes of Pesticide in the Market Insecticides: Insecticides are used to ward off or kill insects. Consumption of insecticides for cotton has come down to 50% from 63% of total volume after introduction of BT cotton. Fungicides: Fungicides are used to control disease attacks on crops. The growing horticulture market in India owing to the government support has given a boost to fungicide usage. The market share of fungicides has increased from 16% in 2004 to 20% in 2009. Herbicides: Herbicides are the fastest growing segment of agrochemicals. Their main competition is cheap labor which is employed to manually pull out weeds. Sales are seasonal, owing to the fact that weeds flourish in damp, warm weather and die in cold spells. Bio-pesticides: Bio-pesticides are pesticides derived from natural substances like animals, plants, bacteria, certain minerals PGR, Nematocides, Rodenticides, Fumigants. Pre-Emergent Herbicides prevent the germination of seeds by inhibiting a key enzyme. Preemergence herbicides are applied to in the crop fields to prevent the germination of weed seeds. They will not affect any established plant. Herbicides should always be applied when the temperature is low (morning or evening). Post-Emergence Herbicides are typically categorized as being either selective or nonselective; these only destroy specific plants while leaving grass intact. Other options are contact herbicides, these products will only destroy the cells in the plant that it comes into direct contact with The industry manufactures two main types of products:

2.2 Company Profile Sinochem is a Chinese conglomerate primarily engaged in the production and trading of chemicals, exploration and production of oil, and operation of the state fertilizer monopoly. Sinochem deals primarily in petrochemicals distribution, but also in rubber, plastics, and agrochemicals. It operates through more than 100 subsidiaries in China and abroad in concerns ranging from petroleum trading to real estate. Sinochem International became the exclusive owner of commercial rights and trade marks in mainland China of 4 famous-brand amide products of U.S. Monsanto (Machete, Harness, Lasso and New Machete); according to the

agreement, Sinochem International can purchase the amide products from Monsanto at the agreed cost prices in the coming 5 years, which opens a new chapter of the strategic transformation of the agrochemical business of Sinochem International and the company gradually embarks on the road of brand operation. With the success in pesticide brand operation, the agrochemical team of Sinochem International participates further in the integration of domestic pesticide industry chain. At the end of February 2008, it acquired amide products business of Monsanto in India, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Taiwan and secured 31%, 55% and 45% of rice herbicide market share in Philippines, India and Thailand, respectively. Thus the companys overseas sales channels are further expanded and the marketing of brand products stretches to other Asian countries; this demonstrates that the agrochemical business of Sinochem International formally steps on the journey of international operation and lays the foundation for Sinochem International to be a global leading professional and multinational supplier integrated with brand building, production, marketing and technological innovation in agrochemical field. As an important strategic measure to promote the agrochemical business of Sinochem International, Sinochem India Company Private Ltd was registered in February 2008 with 360 million rupee of registered capital and has officially put into operation since September 2008. In 2013 Sinochem International entered in a deal for exclusive distribution rights of RoundUp in world worth of $100 million. Sinochem India is currently selling majority of Butachlor in India. They have Butachlor brands like Machete and Fast-Mix. Sinochem also have patented rights to sell Lasso. They have other products like Reload, Swift, Sinozeb, Duranto, Digital, Afnor, Sinocin and Sinotid.

3. METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design Research esearch design was descriptive type. 3.2 Data Source Secondary Data: Secondary Data was collected from Agriculture Department Reports, Business Magazines, Journals and Portals Primary Data: Primary Data has been obtained from paddy growing farmers and retailers. 3.3 The Study Area The Hoshiarpur region was selected for the study. The district has significant paddy cropping area that is well enough to conduct our research.

Exihibit-1 Hoshiarpur Map

3.4 Sampling Plan Demonstration was conducted on the individual farmer engaged in paddy cultivation and those who are not using Fast-Mix in the study area. 3.5 Sampling Unit For the proposed study sampling unit was Paddy growing farmers who are not using Fast-Mix. 3.6 Sampling Size The study conducted personal interview & experiment with total 50 farmers and 10 Dealers. 3.7Sampling Technique For the study convenient sampling was adopted. Convenient sampling is a non-probability sampling technique where subjects are selected because of their convenient accessibility and proximity to the researcher. 3.8 Research Instrument -Questionnaire consists of open and close-ended questions 3.9 Analytical Tool For analysis of data percentage, average, tabulation, graphical representation and Lickert scale was used. 3.10 Duration of Study The period of study was from May to July, 2013.

4. RESULTS
This chapter deals with the presentation and discussion of the result obtained from the answers of respondents. The study was conducted to know the level of awareness of Fast-Mix based on demographic segmentation, to determine factors influencing farmers buying decision for herbicide, and to analyze the Impact of Beaker test demonstration on sales during campaign period of Fast-Mix. The Results are discussed according to the objectives of the study. 4.1 Demographics of Farmers in Hoshiarpur Region This topic deals with the land holding pattern, educational level and Income level of Farmers engaged in paddy cultivation. 4.1.1 Land Holding Pattern Exhibit No. 2 shows that 12 percent of the sample farmers were Large (>10 ha), 30 percent were Small, 30 percent were Medium and 28 percent were Semi-Marginal farmers. So from present study it can conclude that majority of farmers of Hoshiarpur district are having land holding more than 1 hectare.

12%

30% Marginal Small 30% Semi Medium Large

28%

Exhibit No. 2 Land Holding Pattern

4.1.2 Education Level The Educational Level of farmers is very important aspect just because only a well aware farmer will access the all information and he can apply the latest technology in the field. A good quality of farmers practices will be successful only when there is a sound knowledge of minor things.

6%

24% SSC/HSC Graduate Post Graduate 70%

Exhibit 3: Education Level of Farmers of Hoshiarpur district. The Result in the Exhibit 3 shows that 70 percent of the sampled farmers are having education up to SSC/HSC while 24 percent farmers were graduate and 6 percent of the have done post graduation. No one was illiterate farmer. 4.1.3 Income Level of Farmers The survey shows that 45 percent of the sampled farmers fall in the income group of Rs. 2, 00,000 to Rs 5, 00, 000 per annum and 32 percent falls under income group of Rs. 5, 00,000 and above and about 23 percent of farmers falls under category of income group of Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 2, 00,000.

23% 32% 0 to 50000 50000 to 200000 200000 to 500000 500000 to Above

45%

Exhibit 4- Income level of Farmers 4.2 Weedicide usages Pattern In Hoshiarpur region. This topic deals with cropping pattern, weed control measures and weedicide usages pattern in hoshiarpur region. 4.2.1 Cropping Pattern of the Hoshiarpur Region Hoshiarpur region is famous for its intensive Poplar Plantation and also for the Potato seed production. A majority of farmers has adopted following cropping patterns in the region. 1. Maize-Potato-Sugarcane 2. Maize Pea Sugarcane 3. Paddy Wheat- Sugarcane 4. Maize/Paddy - Wheat 4.2.2 Method of Weed Control Weed control in the paddy fields is the most important crop practice for farmers. However there are cultural, biological, mechanical and chemical weed control methods.

Table 3: Method of Weed control Method of Control Mechanical Control Chemical Control Mechanical/Chemical No. of Respondents 7 36 7

14%

14%

Chemical Chemical/Manual Mechanical 72%

Exihibit-5 Weed control measures share On the basis of survey it was revealed that maximum 72 percent of farmers trust on chemical weed control measures where as 14 percent practice only mechanical measure of weed control. Mechanical weed control is practiced by paddy weeder. Some farmers also practices both type of weed control measures contributing around 14 percent share. 4.2.3 Awareness of farmers about Sinochem India Company Lasso is a very famous brand from company and that is very popular in Maize and Sugarcane crop. About 38 percent of the farmers know about the Sinochem India Company and about 62 percent of Farmers does not know about companys name.

4.2.4 Weedicide Used Last Year Machete, Rifit and Topstar are the major brand available in the market. According to the research majority of the weedicide used last year was Machete, Butaveer, Rifit & Topstar. Machete and Butaveer is Butachlor 50 EC,Rifit is Pretilachlor & Topstar is Oxadiagryl. But there is a significant market share of non branded products like Fatafatmix Ready-mix and pritigan. According to the research Machete is having maximum market share of 32 percent followed by Butaveer 14 percent followed by Topstar 12 percent.

12% 6%

14%

Butaveer Fatafatmix 6% Machete Milchlor Pritigan Readymix Rift 32% TKS Pritila Topstar

10%

6% 8% 6%

Exhibit 6- Weedicide Market Share of year 2012 4.3. Factors Influencing Farmers Buying Decision for Weedicide. This topic deals with different factors influencing farmers buying behavior and reason for choosing particular brand. 4.3.1 Factors Influencing Farmer Buying Decision Buying of herbicide primarily depends on the distributors good faith and product giving good margins to the dealers/distributors. Sale is largely governed by the credit driven market .Farmers generally go for products that are recommended by commission agents at mandi. Company staffs relations with the dealers as well as with the farmers are equally important for increasing sale of herbicides. Generally farmers ask for a particular brand like Machete or Rifit, but it is

solely on dealers discretion that what type of product he gives to farmer as normally purchase by farmers are made on credit. Results of field demonstrations do influence the sale of herbicide, still majority of the farmers before using any new product ask for guarantee by the company or dealer. As shown in the exhibit dealer/distributor influence (54%) is the main factor responsible for the sale of herbicide followed by field demonstrations (18%) and opinion leaders or Peer group (26%) and while rest use recommendation of Agriculture department.

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

54%

26% 18%

2% 0% Dealer/Distributer Recommendation Peer Group Pramotional Activity Agri Dept Recommendation

Exhibit 7- Factors of Buying 4.3.2 Reasons for Choosing Particular Brand Farmers always search for ways to widen the narrow margin of profit between production costs and crop returns .Weeds causes more losses in rice fields than any other pest, therefore farmers purchase that kind of product which is cost effective and also give good timely results. The result show that 44 percent of farmers are influences by the quality of product followed by price (26%) followed by packing 16% and 12 % by availability and few of them by the expiry date of product.

2% 12% 26% 16% Price Quality of Product Packing Availability Expiry Date 44%

Exhibit 8 Reason for Choosing Particular Brand 4.4. Analysis of the influence of Beaker Test on sales and Brand Positioning. This topic deals with the effect on Beaker Test on sales and brand positioning map of Hoshiarpur market. 4.4.1 Attention Level of Farmers for Beaker Test The measure of attention level of farmers is based on the number of questions asked by the farmers. The chart says that the more the farmer is interested, more number of question will be asked by him.

Farmer's Responce
16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 One Two Three Four Five Six No of Farmers

Exihibit-9 Attention Level

4.4.2 Response of the Farmers towards the Beaker Test

Respondents
30 25 20 15 10 5 0 4% Indifferent Average Excited Respondents 46% 50%

Exihibit-10- Response of Farmers

The response was taken on four point scale on which particulars like indifferent, average, excited. Study shows 46 percent farmers showed average interest and 50 percent farmers showed excited response. 4.4.3 Intention to Use Fast-mix After showing the Beaker-Test farmers were asked that will you use Fast-Mix in upcoming season. All of them i.e. 100 percent farmers said that they will use it. 4.4.4 Brand Positioning of the Weedicide Market A brands position is the set of perceptions, impressions, ideas and feelings that consumers have for the product compared with competing products. Marketers plan positions that give their products the greatest advantage in selected target markets, and they design marketing mixes to create these planned positions. Brands occupy a space in a consumer's mind whilst other brands compete within that space. The important issues concerning positioning maps for brand owners are as follows. 1. It helps in spotting gaps in the market place.

2. That helps to see if you are launching into a crowded market place. 3. It helps to understand who your closest competitors are. 4. It helps to appreciate the most important criteria customers' use when 'positioning' Different brands in minds are a result of this it helps to inform decisions being made about organizations by marketing activities. For any major decisions being made it can be asked, what is the likely effect of this action on the current position of our brand and is this a wise move? Of course its more complex than this perceptual map shows because any change in one element is likely to have knocked on effects on other elements. Map was designed on the basis of price of product, brand recall by dealers on 1-9 point scale and market share converted on 1-3 point scale.

Brand Positioning Of Weedicide Maket

Brand Recall
Machete Rifit TopStar

Price

Pritigan

TKS Pritila

Price

Butaveer Milchlor Ready mix Fatafat mix

Brand Recall

Exihibit-11- Brand Position Map

4.4.5 Position of the Brands According to the Dealers in the Market The attributes promotional activities, price and effectiveness of products. Dealers were asked to give points to different brands from 1-9 from their point of view. After that all points given by dealer for every product was summed. Here are the ratings of brands according to the dealers. Maximum point can be 90 in the chart. Study shows that effectiveness is almost similar but difference created in price of product is because of the margin dealers are getting. Chart is also representing the difference in the promotional activity among different companies. In this chart dealers gave those companies higher points, who are giving them higher margin. The exhibit is showing that according to the dealers Bayers Topstar is on the top position followed by Sinochems Machete followed by Syngentas Rifit.

Brand Rating according to Dealers

100 90 80 Total Rating Point 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Butavee Machete Topstar r 10 83 90 54 70 88 79 65 86 Ready Mix 10 90 71 TKS Pritila 29 55 88 pritigan 10 90 71 fataftmi Milchlor x 10 90 63 10 90 73 Rifit 71 49 90

Pramotion Price Effectiveness

Exhibit- 12 Rating of Brands according to dealers

4.4.6 Existing Market Size and Projected Market size of Major Weedicides. For this study we gathered the data of dealers and distributers about what was the sales of paddy weedicide technical last year and what will be the expected market size in the year 2013.The data is showing a significant increase in the consumption of Butachlor technical compared to Pretilachlor. Table 4 Market Size
Market Size FY 12 S. No 1 2 3 4 5 Pockets Hoshiarpur Mahilpur Tanda Kathar Pasnta Total Rice Acreage in Acre 20000 5000 35000 20000 10000 90000 Buta EC 4000 1500 20000 6000 2500 34000 Buta EW 3000 1000 15000 2500 2000 23500 Pretila 1000 500 1000 1000 500 4000

(Source Sinochem)
Expected Market Size FY 13 Buta EC 4500 1500 22000 5000 3000 36000 Buta EW 3000 1000 12000 3000 2000 21000 Pretila 1500 500 1500 1000 500 5000

4.4.7 Effect of Market Development Activity on the Sales of Fast-Mix During Kharif season of 2012 total sale of Fast-Mix was 2750 liters and now in the year 2013 kharif season the sales figure showing growth of 23.6 percent in consumption of Fast-Mix. The sales figure represents that any kind of market development activity has a large impact on sales. If promotion of the product is good then it will create demand from the farmers and dealers will automatically demand the product.

5. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION

Beaker Test is an effective promotional tool so need to be focused while going for promotion with respect to the consumer perception. An attractive dealer scheme to attract them because when dealers were asked to rate the product they gave to Sinochems product a lower rating by saying that your prices are not supportive. Study shows that product can be sold without promotional tools by sharing margin from expenditure on promotional tools can give extra edge on sales.

6 REFERENCES
1. Krishna, A (1994) studied consumer buying behavior. J Mktg Res 31: 76-91. 2. Sivakumar, S.D., Srinivasan and Hani, K. 1994. Buying behavior of farmers with reference to pesticides An analysis. Indian Journal of Agricultural Marketing .22:127133. Retrived on 14/5/13 from URL http://www.agrilmktg.org. 3. Michael Beverland, (2001) "Creating value through brands: the ZESPRI kiwi fruit case", British Food Journal, Vol. 103 Iss: 6, pp.383 399 Retrieved on 14/4/2013 from www.emeraldinsight.com 4. Kothari, C.R. 2009. Research Methodology- Methods and Techniques, 2, New Age International (P) limited, New Delhi, India. 5. Belch, G.E., Belch, M. A., and Purani K. 2010. Advertising and promotion: An integrated Marketing Communications Perspective. 7th ed. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. New Delhi, India 6. November (2012) ,Annual Review Report on Indian Pesticide Industry 2012 Retrieved on 14/5/13 from URL www.researchandmarkets.com 7. Raghav,R. 2013. Indian Agrochemicals: Tackling the Challenges.www.agropages.com Extracted on 14/5/13. 8. May (2013) FICCI, 3rd National Agrochemical Conclave Retrieved on 14/5/13 from URL http://www.ficci.com on 14/5/13. 9. www.researchandmarkets.com/.../indian_pesticides_industry_2011 Extracted on 14/5/13. 10. www.larrl.ars.usda.gov/research/publications Extracted on 15/5/13. 11. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoshiarpur Extracted on 15/5/13. 12. www.hoshiarpur.nic.in/ Extracted on 15/5/13. 13. www.agriculturejournals.com/Extracted on 15/5/13.

APPENDICES
Annexure 1 Beaker Test Questionnaire 1. Name 2. Village 3. Contact No 4. Educational Qualification 5. Total area 6. Paddy Area 7. Cropping Pattern

8. Do you know about Sinochem India Company 9. Do you know about Fast-Mix 10. How you control weeds 11. Which Weedicide you have used last year on Paddy 12. Beaker Test allowed 13. Is the Beaker test is helpful to know about benefits of Fast-Mix 14. Attention Level 15. Response Indifferent Average excited

Yes/No Yes/No Chemical/Mechanical/Both

Yes/No Yes/No .%

very excited Yes/No

16. Intention to use Fast-Mix

17. What Kind of factors you look while purchasing the Weedicide. I. II. III. IV. Dealer /Distributer Recommendation Peer Group Promotional Activities Agri Dept Recommendation

18. Reason For choosing particular brand Price Quality of Product Packing Availability Expiry date

Annexure 2 Dealer Questionnaire 1. Name 2. Market 3. Major Paddy Weedicide Selling

4. How you will rate these products (1-9) Brands Butaveer Fatafatmix Machete Milchlor Pritigan Readymix Rift TKS Pritila Topstar MRP Pramotion Price Effectiveness