Assessment of the Channel of Rice Marketing: A case Study on Jessore District

Abstract

This study is based on data collected through a survey of 42 rice farmers
and 21 middlemen carried out during November to December 2010 in Jhikargacha
Upazila in the Jessore district of Bangladesh. In the surveyed area six types of
middlemen and eighteen types of major marketing channels were identified. The
study found that 33 (79%) farmers sold exclusively unhusked rice and only 9 (21%)
farmers sold partially husked rice. The quantities of unhusked rice sold by farmer to
village merchants, wholesalers of unhusked rice, stockists and husker were 6, 43, 15
and 22%, respectively. Although among all eighteen channels husked rice selling to
retailers of husked rice was observed to be the best channel, only 6% of unhusked
rice was converted to husked rice and sold through this channel. Husked rice sold
through wholesalers of husked rice was also found to be the second best channel, but
only 8% of unhusked rice was converted to husked rice and sold through this
channel. The amount of returns, or farmers share, from rice selling were very a
important factor for subsistence because it was one of the main sources of
agricultural income for the farmers in the surveyed area. Therefore, the assessment
of the best channel was necessary for them. Most of the farmers know that the
selling of husked rice comparatively earns more money than the selling of unhusked
rice, but they must sell the raw product after harvesting, due to economic and
marketing problems. Farmers will not widely be able to use the best channel as long
as these problems are unsolved.