Information and agricultural input markets: pearl millet seed in Rajasthan
✍ Scribed by Robert Tripp; Suresh Pal
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 115 KB
- Volume
- 12
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0954-1748
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The ability of commercial input markets to serve farmers depends on the eective exchange of information between ®rms and consumers. Insucient information may leave farmers exposed to inappropriate products and can limit ®rms' ability to respond to farmers' needs. These issues are examined through a study of seed practices in eastern Rajasthan, where farmers increasingly utilize commercial pearl millet seed. Farmers have an incomplete understanding of the seed options available to them, and companies' eorts to provide information or assess demand are inadequate. Nevertheless, the evidence points to generally positive eects of the expansion of the commercial seed market. Suggestions are made for improving information ¯ow through public sector plant breeding, consumer education, and the development of local capacity to test and assess commercial products.