Summer Training Report

On EFFECTIVENESS OF IFFCO PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES

of

SAKET,New Delhi

Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirement of Master of Business Administration

Submitted To: Internal Guide : Mr.Nitin Goel Designation : VIMT Faculty

Submitted By: Anil M.B.A 3rd sem. Roll no.- 501

External Guide: Mr. N K Salhotra Designation : Chief Manager (Marketing)

VAISH INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY,ROHTAK

Declaration
I, Anil, a student of Vaish Institute Of Mgt. & Tech., Rohtak pursuing Masters In business administration, 3rd semester, hereby declare that I had completed my eight weeks summer training with IFFCO INDUSTRY on the topic EFFECTIVENESS OF IFFCO PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES under the guidance of N.K.Salhotra Chief Manager (Marketing) for the partial fulfillment of the degree of Masters in business administration to

Maharishi Dayanand University Rohtak. I solemnly declare that the work done by me is original and no copy of it has been submitted to any other university for award of any other degree, diploma or fellowship on similar title.

Anil

Signature of Supervisor

Signature of Principal

Acknowledgement
True knowledge is gained through experience and the two months spent at IFFCO have been a tremendous learning experience in terms of practical application of the theoretical learning I have gained so far. In a Business environment where everyone has their own targets to meet and their own deadlines to adhere to, I received a lot of valuable time, able guidance, encouragement, feedback and inputs from people in the organization. For this, I thank my project mentor Mr. N.K Salhotra for his patience and step-by-step guidance towards the successful completion of my project. A special thanks to Mr. S.S Dalal for his constant support and advice in taking the project forward. finally, I thank all those people whose name I could not mention here but who encouraged and supported me in completing this project work.

ANIL

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 RURAL MARKETING. 5 ANALYZING THE RURAL ENVIRONMENT 6 ABOUT IFFCO, HISTORY, PLANTS & ITS DIVERSIFICATION.. 7-11 AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION, PROMOTION AND ITS EXTENSION SERVICES.12-18 AREA SPECIFIC APPROACH 19-20

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES... 21-22 RESEARCH PROBLEM & ITS BACKGROUND. .. 23-24 OBJECTIVE AND ITS SCOPE. 25 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY . 26-29 ANALYSIS ON THE PROJECT .30-40 SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.. 41 LIMITATIONS OF STUDY. 42 CONCLUSIONS.. 43-44 QUESTIONNAIRE... 45-46

Executive Summary

Agriculture the backbone of Indian Economy still holds its relative importance for more than a billion peoples. The Government Of India from time to time has taken considerable steps for the upliftment of Agriculture Sector. In India 70% of the people are totally dependent on agriculture. IFFCO is the worlds no. 1 largest producer of fertilizer and its promotional activities are also very famous in India. Fertilizer sector is very crucial for Indian economy because it provides a very important input to agriculture. Most of the farmers get the benefit from its promotional activities. My project was Effectiveness of IFFCOs Promotional Activity. In this project I have explored that what are the promotional activities which IFFCO are providing to farmers. What are the benefits which farmers are getting from IFFCOs promotional activities. IFFCO has provided lots of Promotional Activities like farmers meeting, soil testing, demonstration etc. I have to research on this also that whether the farmers have heard about IFFCO and its promotional activities. The study was carried out on 106 farmers on Dulana village of Haryana and Morna village of Uttar Pradesh. As in this some questions and personal interview had been taken from the farmers. As from farmers the questions were asked that are they getting any benefit from IFFCOs promotional activities and is IFFCO awarding anything to them and which companys promotional activity they like the most. As most of the farmers buy any fertilizer which is available in the market which points out that IFFCOs supply is not good in some villages. Some of the farmers those who only use the IFFCOs fertilizer they have to buy it in black.

Rural Marketing
Rural marketing is defined as any marketing activity in which one dominant participant is from a rural area. This implies that rural marketing consist of marketing inputs (products and services) to rural markets as well as marketing of outputs from the rural markets to other geographical areas. It is not only the size of the population that makes rural markets in South Asia very important for marketers. Rural markets offer immense potential for market expansion and growth. For example, in India, the consumption in rural markets was growing at an annual compounded growth rate of around 4% for the last 20 years; but this is estimated to grow by over 5% in the next two decades and this is expected to treble by 2025. Although rural markets offer immense potential, marketers need to recognize that there are considerable differences in many respects, including the nature, characteristics buying patterns, and behavior of rural consumers, when compared with their urban counterparts. While the urban economy thrives mainly on secondary and tertiary activities such as manufacturing and services, the rural economy is driven mainly by primary activities such as agriculture, fishing and forestry.

On the one hand, in rural areas the demand for production and consumption of goods such as farm equipment and machinery, seeds. Fertilizers, pesticides, banking services, and products for personal and family use have increased substantially. On the other hand, the increased output of the rural economy, namely food grains, fruits and vegetables, milk, poultry products, handloom and handicraft products need to be marketed to the processing and consumption centers, which are usually in urban areas. As a result, rural marketing that consists of marketing of products to and from rural areas is a vital activity in south Asia. ANALYZING THE RURAL ENVIRONMENT South Asia is primarily rural in character with large populations residing in the rural areas. India has more than 70% of its population living in rural areas. Rural markets in South Asia exhibit several distinctive characteristics that are different from the urban areas. As these markets are rapidly changing, it is important that firms keep an eye on the major forces operating in the rural markets. DEMOGRAPHIC ENVIRONMENT India has about 639,000 villages, where 743 million people, accounting for about 72% of Indias population. The remarkable thing, however, is that this population is distributed across a large number of villages with many of the villages sparsely distributed. About 62% of the villages have less than 1000 population, and only 3% of the villages have population more than 5000. Most villages with less than 500 people do not have any shops. Distribution of Population in Villages in India Population (Number) No. of Villages Proportion of Total Villages (%) 37 25 35 2 1 100

Less than 500 people Between 500-999 Between 1000-4999 Between 5000-9999 More than 10,000 Total

236,004 158,124 221,040 15,058 3,976 634,202

The age mix population is another important factor. In India, the young adults or people in the age group between 20 and 35 years account for about one quarter of the rural population, and the proportion of young children between the age group of 5 and 14 years forms another quarter of the rural population.

About IFFCO
Indian farmers fertilizer Cooperative limited, also known as IFFCO, is the worlds largest fertilizer cooperative federation based in India, which is registered as a Multistate Cooperative society. IFFCO has 39,862 member cooperatives. IFFCO has been ranked #37 in top companies in India in 2011 by Fortune India 500 list. A cooperative is defined by the International Co-operative Alliance's Statement on the Cooperative Identity as an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. A cooperative may also be defined as a business owned and controlled equally by the people who use its services or who work at it. Cooperative enterprises are the focus of study in the field of cooperative economics. Cooperatives have a sponsored top-level internet domain cooperative, which identifies legally registered or recognized co-operatives Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy and equality. In the tradition of their founders, cooperative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and care for others. Such legal entities have a range of unique social characteristics. Membership is open, meaning that anyone who satisfies certain nondiscriminatory conditions may join. Economic benefits are distributed proportionally according to each member's level of economic interest in the cooperative, for instance by a dividend on sales or purchases. Cooperatives may be generally classified as either consumer cooperatives or producer cooperatives. A producer cooperative is a cooperative that is owned and democratically controlled by its "worker-owners". There are no outside owners in a "pure" workers cooperative, only the workers own shares of the business, though hybrid forms in which consumers, community members or capitalist investors also own some shares are not uncommon. Membership is not compulsory for employees, but generally only employees can become members. IFFCO is also a producer cooperative. During mid- sixties the Co-operative sector in India was responsible for distribution of 70 per cent of fertilizers consumed in the country.

History
During the 1960s the co-operative sector in India was responsible for distribution of 70 % of fertilizers consumed in the country. This sector had adequate infrastructure to distribute the fertilizers but had no production facilities of its own and hence dependent on public/private sectors for supplies. To overcome this lacuna and bridge the demand supply gap in the country, a new cooperative society was conceived to specifically cater to the requirements of the farmers. It

was a unique venture in which the farmers of the country through their own cooperative societies created this new institution to safeguard their interests. The no. of cooperative societies associated with IFFCO have risen from 57 in 1967 to 39,862 at present. Indian Farmers Fertilizer Co-operative limited (IFFCO) was registered on November 3, 1967 as a Multi-unit Co-operative society. On the enactment of the Multistate Co-operative societys act 1984 & 2002, the society is deemed to be registered as a Multistate Co-operative society. This society is primarily engaged in production and distribution of fertilizers. The byelaws of the society provide a broad framework for the activities of IFFCO as a Co-operative society. IFFCO started its seeding program in the year 1970-71 in the state of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Plants

IFFCO commissioned as ammonia-urea complex at Kalol and the NPK/DAP plant at Kandla both in the state of Gujarat in 1975. Another ammonia-urea complex was setup at Phulpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh in 1981. The ammonia-urea unit at Aonla was commissioned in 1988. In 1993, IFFCO had drawn up a major expansion program of all the four plants under overall aegis of IFFCO VISION 2000. The expansion projects at Aonla, Kalol, Phulpur and Kandla were completed on schedule. All the projects conceived as part of VISION 2000 has been realized without time or cost overruns. All the production units of IFFCO have established the reputation of excellence and quality. Another growth path was chalked out to realize new dreams and greater heights through Vision 2010. As part of this vision, IFFCO has acquired fertilizer unit at Paradeep in Orissa in September 2005. As a result of these expansion projects and acquisition, IFFCOs annual capacity has been increased to 3.69 million tons of urea and NPK/DAP equivalent to 1.71 million tons. In pursuit of its growth and development, IFFCO had embarked upon and successfully implemented its corporate plans, Mission 2005 and Vision 2010. These plants have resulted in IFFCO becoming one of the largest producer and marketer of chemical fertilizers by expansion of its existing units, setting up joint venture companies overseas and diversification into new sectors. IFFCO has now visualized a comprehensive plan titled Vision 2015 which is presently under consideration.

Diversification
IFFCO has entered into several key sectors. IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance Ltd (ITGI) is a foray into general insurance sector. Through ITGI, IFFCO has formulated new services of benefit to farmers. Sankat Haran Bima Yojana provides free insurance cover to farmers along with each bag of IFFCO fertilizer purchased. To take the benefits of emerging concepts like agricultural commodity trading, IFFCO has purchased equity in National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) and National Collateral Management Services Limited (NCMSL). IFFCO Chhattisgarh Power Limited (ICPL) which is under implementation is yet another foray to move into core area of power. IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Ltd (IKSL) Telecom initiative for Rural India. IFFCO is developing a multi-product KISAN Special Economic Zone (IKSEZ) at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh - first of its kind with farmer's cooperatives as stakeholders. IFFCO is also behind several other companies with the sole intention of benefiting farmers. The distribution of IFFCOs fertilizer is undertaken through over 39,824 co-operative societies. The entire activities of Distribution, Sales and Promotion are co-ordinate by Marketing Central Office (MKCO) at New Delhi assisted by the Marketing offices in the field. In addition, essential agro-inputs for crop production are made available to the farmers through a chain of 158 Farmers Service Centre (FSC). IFFCO has promoted several institutions and organizations to work for the welfare of farmers, strengthening cooperative movement, improve Indian agriculture. Indian Farm Forestry Development Cooperative Ltd (IFFDC), Cooperative Rural Development Trust (CORDET), IFFCO Foundation, Kisan Sewa Trust belong to this category. An ambitious project ICT Initiatives for Farmers and Cooperatives is launched to promote e-culture in rural India. IFFCO obsessively nurtures its relations with farmers and undertakes a large number of agricultural extension activities for their benefit every year. In February 2010, it was announced that IFFCO had entered into a joint venture partnership with GrowMax Agri Corp, a subsidiary of Americas Petro gas Inc.

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION, PROMOTION AND EXTENSION SERVICES

IFFCO was conceived on the principle that cooperative from different States would provide the share capital of IFFCO and also act as marketers of the companys products. Cooperative, however, were not equipped to undertake the responsibility of promoting IFFCOs grades which were new to the Indian farmers. Hence, in order to popularise its products and to create a ready market for them before its plant went into production. IFFCO took upon itself the responsibility of undertaking systematic promotional and educational programmes, through a well-conceived approach.

1.1 SEEDING PROGRAMME A seeding programme during the three year construction period had the advantage of; (1) Acquainting farmers with the benefits of using fertilizers distributed by IFFCO; (2) Giving IFFCOs promotion staff experience in analyzing field condition and problems and making their specific recommendation, (3) Building up data on local agronomic and cooperative condition, (4) Stimulating better promotion and administration of fertilizer distribution by IFFCO and member-cooperative and (5) Giving the marketing staff experience in distribution of fertilizer, realization of sales proceeds and various accounting procedures. 1.2 FARMERS EDUCATION PROGRAMMES Agricultural Scientists have evolved location-specific crop production technologies for increasing productivity of crops and fertilizer use efficiency. It is therefore important that technology is quickly disseminated on the farmers fields. Organizing extension and promotional programmes with a coordinated approach, along with other experts and the extension workers is very important for advising the farmers on the adoption of agricultural technology. These programmes are described below: 1.2.1 DEMONSTRTIONS

Conducting crop demonstration on farmers fields is the most effective method of convincing farmers on the need for adoption of agricultural technology to improve crop yield and fertiliser use efficiency. IFFCO is laying great importance to this programme. Demonstration on various crop are conducted on the farmers field through various approaches. 1.2.2 FIELD PROGRAMMES IFFCO has developed a wide range of field programmes to suit the requirements of a large number of farmers in various locations. These programmes support the demonstration activity on farmers field. They include farmers meeting, field day crop seminar as also agricultural and social campaigns. These programmes are organized well in advance of the showing seasons of imparting knowledge to the farmers so that they can adopt the improved technology to increase crop productivity and fertilizer use efficiency.

a) Farmers Meeting Farmers are imparted knowledge about improved crop production technology through meetings which are usually organized at common locations in the villages. They are also educated about the role of plant nutrient and other aspect of crop production through charts, slides, films etc. This is a very important activity as farmers are directly involved in the communication process. Every year more than 2000 farmers meetings are organized.

b) Field Day Field day programmes are organized on demonstration plots which help the farmers appreciate the differences in productivity from arising due to demonstration effect. The farmers are informed well in advance to participate in field day programme. Field day provides an excellent opportunity for interaction among farmers and extension workers and for further dissemination of agricultural technology for a good harvest.

c) Crop Seminar This is very important programme organised prior to showing in which agricultural scientists are involved for explaining crop production and fertiliser use technologies. Besides farmers

also derive benefit from participation of official from Cooperative Banks and Agricultural Departments for resolving their problems.

d) Agriculture and Social Campaigns IFFCO is also organising various campaigns on agriculture and social aspects. These include soil and water analysis, seed treatment, plant protection, rodent control, tree plantation, save grain campaigns, weed control, medical and veterinary check-up etc.

e) Training and Visit IFFCO has started special programmes for farmers to impart training on different aspect of crop production and allied activities. Training is given by agricultural scientists at the Agricultural Universities//Research Institute of different states. Group of 40 farmers are selected to attend 5-day training programmes at different locations. The programmes benefits more than 2000 farmers every year.

1.2.3 SOIL TESTING Soil testing is one of the important tools to learn about nutrient requirements in a crop/cropping sequence. This help economising on fertilizer costs and increasing fertilizer use efficiency. Data from soil testing over a period of time reveal that nutrient status of Soil tested is definitely changing the trend being from high to medium to low. If immediate measures to replenish plant nutrient are not taken status of soil will further deteriorate, and crop production will be affected.

1.2.4 SEED MULTIPLICATION Seed multiplication programmes was initiated by IFFCO in the year 1978 in the States of Haryana and Punjab through registered seed growers. Since then IFFCO seed has been in great demand among the farmers. Later, the programme was extended to other states.

1.2.5 PROMOTIONAL AND PUBLICITY ACTIVITIES Fertilizer promotion is one of the important components in fertilizer marketing. The objective is to create awareness about fertilizers and provide technical information on improved agricultural

practices and fertilizers use so as to increase productivity and fertilizer use efficiency. Mass media approach is followed in fertilizer promotion.

a) AIR, Doordarshan and Press These are effective and powerful medium of communication and the messages is conveyed even in remote and inaccessible areas in short time. IFFCO has been taken the advantage of this media for promotion of fertilizer use. IFFCOs field staff is often deliver talks over AIR and Doordarshan. From time to time advertisements are also released to newspapers and journals.

b) Fairs and Exhibitions Fairs and exhibitions are organized at local and national level to appraise the farmers about achievements in agricultural development through audio-visual aids. This medium has a mass appeal. IFFCO avails of such opportunities to participate in such popular programmes. c) Technical Literature Publication and updating of technical literature from time to time in regional languages on crop production practices and fertilizer use is very important. This includes crop folders, leaflets, and pamphlets etc. which give brief accounts on crop production technology.

d) Hoarding and Roadside Sign Boards IFFCO is effectively making use of State and National Highways and also market places for promoting the concept of balanced fertilizer use by erecting hoardings and roadside sign boards, wall painting etc. The front wall of villages cooperative societies and panchayat bhavans has been painted with slogans promoting balanced and efficient fertilizer use.

e) Crop Films Appreciating the importance of the electronic media and popularization of Video presentations, IFFCO has developed 8 crop films depicting the package of practices for the benefit of farmers. These films are of 15 minutes duration each and cover important crops like rice, wheat, maize, pearl millet, cotton, sugarcane, soya been and mustard

seed. IFFCO has also prepared 15 films in regional languages on balanced fertilization. These have become extremely popular among farmers.

1.2.6 FUTURE STRATEGIES IFFCO is better known for its Promotional and Educational Programmes. A variety of need based programmes have been introduced from time to time to make IFFCO a household name in rural areas. With the intensively spread network of cooperative outlets, it has become essential to put IFFCOs promotional and educational programmes uniformly all over the marketing territory. The emphasis in future programmes will be focus on balanced fertilization, fertilizer use efficiency, promotion of bio fertilizer, IPNS, natural resource management and environmentfriendly sustainable agriculture. The programmes will have linkage with the promotion of sales of IFFCO fertilizer particularly in areas with low fertilizer consumption which need further efforts of market development.

Service to Farmers

(Number)

PROGRAMME TWO PLOT DEMONSTRATION FARMERS MEETINGS FIELD DAYS CROP SEMINARS CRITICAL INPUT PACKAGES SOIL TESTING CAMPAIGNS

2007-08 1006 3433 779 169 6519

2008-09 806 3450 807 124 6842

2009-10 881 3586 825 153 8125

2010-11 843 3341 800 155 10929

2011-12 788 3269 783 165 27304

Service to farmers
530 542

(Number)
497 484 435

PROGRAMME VETERINARY CAMPAIGNS MEDICAL CHECKUP SALES POINT PERSONNEL TRAINING

2007-08 165 108 1111

2008-09 121 10 1070

2009-10 119 114 894

2010-11 140 130 824

2011-12 146 138 832

Service to farmers

(In Lakhs)

ITEM GRANTS TO CORDET DEMONSTRATION EXPENSES BENEFIT TO FARMERS TRAINING EXPENSES

2007-08 186.47 252.22 1010.67 183.26

2008-09 225.16 249.01 2036.60 192.13

2009-10 236.54 347.67 1793.34 164.97 567.97

2010-11 251.75 340.88 1283.62 217.34 890.08

2011-12 243.75 463.35 1846.44 234.10 836.97

OTHER PROM. 586.22 810.52 PROG/CROP FILMS/IRDP ETC. AREA SPECIFIC APPROACH SANKAT HARAN 822.00 880.00

948.00

1248.00

1135.00

BIMA YOJANA IFFCO has implemented areas specific agriculture development projects to extend benefits of TOTAL 3040.84 4393.42 4058.49 4231.67 4760.01 technology to the farmers through demonstration approach and to bring about overall agriculture EXPENDITURE development in the area. This approach of working in the farmers in a concentrated manner
helped the production, productivity of crop and fertilizer use along with the adoption of other improved varieties and practices. The area development approach was based on specific situation like rain fed farming , reclamation of problematic soil , backward areas. Introduction of specific technology like bio-fertilizer, bio-pesticides, drip irrigation water shed management etc. 1-Drip Irrigation Project Drip irrigation system swas discovered is Israel, discharging rate of water per drippoer is generally 1-4 liter and the water diffuses by capillary action in the soil. It consists of main pipe line, submains, lateral and emitters. Unlike sprinkler head.emitters release water without any pressure. The discharge of most emitters range between less than 1 liter to 15-20 liter. The project was launched in collaboration with the state Department iof Agriculture, cooperative suger Factory their and college of Agriculture pune in the year of 1995-96. The irrigation internal is 1-4 days. It save 50-70%^ water and even more. In this method of irrigation no land leveling is necessary habitation doing easily and well. 2- Recharging of well:

This project launched that area where annual rainfall is very little. Recharging of bore well through water harvesting Rainwater is harvested for further use or to recharge the ground water table by various method such as construction of bunds across the slope, check dams and percolation tanks roof top rain water harvesting and recharge of open and bore wells. Total cost for recharge of bore well was Rs16250 per bore well out of

this IFFCO contributed Rs.12750/- and farmers contributed the balance amount of Rs.3500/3-use of Information Technology Farmers require timely information on weather, sowing time, availability and recommendations on inputs, availability of credit expert advice on maintaining his crop in healthy condition information on markets and on all other areas of interest to him and his family. Despite best effort and expenditure the conventional apparatus could not meet this requirement satisfactorily. IFFCOS website was launched in 1997 with substantial information on agriculture. Subsequently, the site was re-launched with more information and services in august 2001. The site provides agri information such as package of practices for field and horticulture crops, information on fertilizers, role of plant nutrients, information about animal husbandry, list of mandies, information on water management, seeds, agriculture implements etc. It is planned to make it more illustrative and comprehensive, gradually the entire website with information on agriculture will be converted as a portal using simple user friendly technology.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

IFFCO has promoted several institutions and organizations to work for the welfare of farmers, strengthening cooperative movement, improve Indian agriculture. Indian Farm Forestry Development Cooperative Ltd (IFFDC), Cooperative Rural Development Trust (CORDET), IFFCO Foundation, Kisan Sewa Trust belongs to this category. Cooperative Rural Development Trust (CORDET) and Indian Farm Forestry Development Cooperative (IFFDC) have taken up various farmers training and farm forestry programs at large scale

Under the CORDET management, IFFCO produces bio-fertilizers and saplings for fruits and vegetables which are distributed to the farmers along with the fertilizers. Soil testing services are also provided to farmers through the CORDET Laboratories at Kalol and Phulpur. IFFCO owns 167 Farmers Service Centers spread over the country that provides micro-nutrients, pesticides, agriculture kits etc. to the farmers in addition to the fertilizers. IFFCO has professors chair in various agricultural universities and also a chair in chemical engineering and fertilizers technology which undertake various research programs as sponsored by IFFCO. Thus the objective of IFFCO is not only of a business entity but of a cooperative institution where in addition to profit the service to the farmers and the society is paramount.

An ambitious project ICT Initiatives for Farmers and Cooperatives' is launched to promote eculture in rural India. IFFCO obsessively nurtures its relations with farmers and undertakes a large number of agricultural extension activities for their benefit every year. At IFFCO, the thirst for ever improving the services to farmers and member co-operatives is insatiable, commitment to quality is in surmountable and harnessing of mother earths' bounty to drive hunger away from India in an ecologically sustainable manner is the prime mission. All that IFFCO cherishes in exchange is an everlasting smile on the face of Indian farmer who forms the moving spirit behind this mission. IFFCO, to day, is a leading player in India's fertilizer industry

and is making substantial contribution to the efforts of Indian Government to increase food grain production in the country.

RESEARCH PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Agriculture the backbone of Indian Economy still holds its relative importance for more than a billion peoples. The Government Of India from time to time has taken considerable steps for the upliftment of Agriculture Sector. Here we have analyzed the performance of Fertilizer Industry being one of the vital parts in agricultural production and Government's policy initiatives for the same. India is primarily an agriculture based economy. The agricultural sector and its other associated spheres provide employment to a large section of the country's population and contribute about 25% to the GDP. The Indian Fertilizer Industry is one of the allied sectors of the agricultural sphere. India has emerged as the third largest producer of nitrogenous fertilizers. The adoption of back to back Five Year plans has paved the way for self sufficiency in the production of food grains. In fact production has gone up to an extent that there is scope for the export of food grains. This surplus has been facilitated by the use of chemical fertilizers. The large scale use of chemical fertilizers has been instrumental in bringing about the green revolution in India. The fertilizer industry in India began its journey way back in 1906. During this period the first Single Super Phosphate (SSP) factory was established in Ranipet in Chennai. It had a capacity of producing 6000 MT annually. In the pre and post independence era a couple of large scale fertilizer units were established namely the Fertilizer Corporation of India in Sindri, Bihar and the Fertilizer & Chemicals Travancore of India Ltd in Cochin, Kerala. The Indian government has devised policies conducive to the manufacture and consumption of fertilizers. Numerous committees have been formed by the Indian government to formulate and determine fertilizer policies. The dramatic development of the fertilizer industry and the rise in its production capacity has largely been attributed to the favorable policies. This has resulted in large scale investments in all three sectors viz. public, private and co-operative. At present there are 57 large scale fertilizer units. These manufacture an extensive range of phosphatic, nitrogenous and complex fertilizers. 29 of these 57 units are engaged in the

manufacturing of urea, while 13 of them produce Calcium Ammonium Nitrate and Ammonium Sulphate. The remaining 20 fertilizer plants manufacture complex fertilizers and DAP. There are also a number of medium and small scale industries in operation, about 72 of them. The following table elucidates the installed capacity of each sector. Fertilizer in the agricultural process is an important area of concern. Fertilizer industry in India has succeeded in meeting the demand of all chemical fertilizers in the recent years. The Fertilizer Industry in India started its first manufacturing unit of Single Super Phosphate (SSP) in Ranipet near Chennai with a capacity of 6000 MT a year.

India's green revolution in late sixties gave a positive boost to the sector. The sector experienced a faster growth rate and presently India is the third largest fertilizer producer in the world. SO the present research was done on the topic Effectiveness of Promotional Activities of IFFCO which has been done in the village Dulana, Mahendragarh, Haryana and village Morna, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE

OBJECTIVE To understand the promotional activities of IFFCO To do impact analysis of IFFCOs existing promotional programs To do the competitors analysis. Development of alternate strategies under the changing agriculture scenario. To analyze the areas of improvement. Scope of the study On the basis of objective, its scope is To understand the Customer satisfaction level. Can Capability of starting and ending (including mid-day) promotions with flexible duration Overlapping promotions can be created with overriding feature. All Maintained calendar of all planned and actual promotional events can be analyzed Indirectly help the framers for increasing his socio economic condition This project report also helps the management of the organization to understand the Where they are along with the competitors in the market and can also find out the areas of improvement in this challenging changing agriculture.

Research methodology

The present studies were carried out in Dulana village in Haryana and Morna village in Uttar Pradesh.

Research design The research design adopted for this study is descriptive research study since the study describes the entire survey in Dulana village in Haryana and Morna village in Uttar Pradesh region for survey of farmers as well as officers of IFFCO Company.

Data sources: Both primary and secondary data were used for this research. Data was collected for supporting the research by interviewing farmers and IFFCO officers A. Primary Data: Primary data was gathered mainly from primary sources by personal interview with the farmers and officers of IFFCO. B. Secondary Data: Secondary sources comprised of reports from journals, magazines, company website, institutional websites of government and company reports.

Research Approaches: The approaches for primary data collection are as follows:A. Survey Research: Mostly the research was done by developing a survey instrument, a questionnaire, based on that respondents were interviewed. This research helped us to find potential business areas. B. Observational Research: Fresh data was collected by observing in the relevant places, while standing and interacting with the farmers.

Research Instrument: For the purpose of primary data collection research instrument used is Questionnaires. A. Questionnaires: Consists of a set of questions prepared based on the requirement of data need to be collected. B. Questionnaire Design: basically two types of questionnaires were used a. Closed-end questions: Dichotomous (question with two possible answers-yes or no), Multiple choice(questions with three or more answers), b. b. Open-end questions: these are Completely unstructured (question that respondents can answer in an almost unlimited number of ways-like what is your opinion on this

Sampling Design: A sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population, this consists of the following A. Sampling unit/ Population: The sampling unit for this study includes farmers and officers. B. Area of study: The area covered in village Dulana, Haryana and Morna, Uttar Pradesh C. Sampling frame: Entire data base on farmers and official data. D. Sample size: Out of all farmers randomly 66 farmers were selected from Dulana, Haryana and 40 were selected from Morna, Uttar Pradesh. Sampling Procedure A. probability Sample Stratified random sample: Farmers were classified as follow Large Farmer Marginal farmer Small farmer

Personal Interview: Farmers and officers were asked questions by using questionnaires and recorded additional information about IFFCOs promotional activities.

Analysis Methods 1. Percentage method: The entire questions in the questionnaire are analyzed from the collected data and they were converted in to percentages with explanations. Percentages were useful in comparing two series of data. During analysis it was difficult in interpreting the difference in the actual counts. But with the use of relative differences, percentages it can be more clearly seen. 2. Cross Tabulation: It is applicable to data in which both the dependent and in dependent variable appear in categorical form. In a cross tabulation the percentages are usually shown, as well as the actual counts of the number of responses falling in to the different cells of the table. To interpret the cross tabulation analysis the pattern of percentage mentioned across the each row separately.

Methods of research data presentation A. Tabular forms: Observations and inferences after each analysis is presented in a table with numerical values. Tables make it easy to understand the findings at a glance than going through the lengthy description. B. Graphs: Each finding was presented graphically in the form of pie charts, bar diagrams after analysis for easy references. The main features of frequency distribution are conveniently communicated by representing the frequency distribution in the form of a diagram, C. Description: After the analysis of the collected data, interpretations are given at the bottom of the tables. On the basis of the analysis, major findings and suggestions were made.

Analysis on the project

AVERAGE NUMBER OF FARMERS LAND HOLDINGS

10, 10% 18, 17%

Small farmers 32, 30% medium farmers semi-medium farmers large farmers 46, 43%

As according to this analysis we can see that there were 18 small farmers or we can say that 17% of farmers who were holding less than 2 acre of land for farming, 46 medium farmers or we can say that 43% of farmers are holding from 2-5 acre, 32 semi-medium farmers or 30% farmers were holding from 5-10 acre and 10 large farmers or 10% farmers were holding more than 10 acre of land for farming

Type of farming done by the farmers

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Green farming 89

farming type

farming type

17

organic farming

As we can see in the graph that 89 farmers are using the green farming and 17 farmers are using the organic farming. Organic farming methods combine scientific knowledge of ecology and modern technology with traditional farming practices based on naturally occurring biological processes. Green farming is the natural process through which farming is done. So according to this green farming were mostly used by the farmers and which is a very famous and traditional process.

MODE OF IRRIGATION

5, 4%

5, 5%

4, 4%

tubewell canal 92, 87% well others

Mode of irrigation is the most important things for the farmers. As we can see that 92 farmers or 87% farmers were using tube well, 5 farmers or 4% of the farmers were using the canals, 5 farmers or 5% were using well, 4 farmers were using the others. In others we can explain you one thing that these others are only used by the small farmers who dont have money for irrigation. So they take water from their neighbors.

How many farmers have heard about IFFCO?

120.00% 100.00% 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00% yes no

Series1

According to graph we can see that 99.06% or 105 farmers have heard about IFFCO. Only .94% or we can say that only one person I have met who havent heard about IFFCO. This proves that everyone has heard about IFFCO.

How you came to know about IFFCO?

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 promotional activities friends

66

Series1 22 13 4

market

media

According to analysis 22 farmers or 20.95% farmers knew about IFFCO through promotional activities done by IFFCO. 13 farmers or 12.38% know about IFFCO from their friends and relatives. 66 farmers or 62.85% farmers know about IFFCO from the market. 4 farmers or 3.80% farmers knew about IFFCO from the media. This means that IFFCO have to concentrate mostly on promotional activities and they should also advertise more in media so that more people should know about IFFCO and its activities.

Which companys fertilizer you generally use?

45.00% 40.00% 35.00% 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% IFFCO KRIBHCO UTTAM OTHERS 10.37% 10.37% 44.33% 34.90% Series1

According to this analysis we can see that 44.33% of farmers are using IFFCO fertilizer, 10.37% farmers are using KRIBCHOs fertilizer, 10.37% farmers are using UTTAMs fertilizer and 37.90% farmers are using other companys fertilizer which are CHAMBAL, KISAN, TATA, NATIONAL FERTILIZER and etc.

Are you awarded of any Promotional activity conducted by IFFCO in your village?

42.45% 57.55%

yes no

According to this analysis we can see that only 42.45% farmers are awarded from IFFCOs promotional activities and 57.55% farmers are not awarded from this because they havent attended any promotional activity of IFFCO. So IFFCO have to focus on this thing.

Are you getting any sort of benefit from IFFCOs promotional programme?

60.00%

50.00%

40.00% 57.15% 42.85% 20.00% Series1

30.00%

10.00% 0 yes no not attended

0.00%

According to these analysis 42.85% farmers those who have attended IFFCOs promotional activity are getting benefit from this activity. No farmers who have attended have said that they have not got any benefit from IFFCOs promotional programme. But 57.15% farmers havent attended their promotional activity.

Is there any other company or agriculture organization other than IFFCO conducting promotional activities in your village?

100% 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% Series1 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% no yes 0%

As we can see that no other company or other agriculture organization have done any promotional activity in there village.

Which companys promotional activity is better according to you?

60

50

40 60 Series1 45 20

30

10 0 IFFCO KRIBHCO 0 UTTAM 0 OTHERS NOT ATTENDED ANY

So according to this analysis we can say that 45 farmers have said that IFFCOs promotional programme is the best. 60 farmers havent attended any of the programme. I have visited to Meerut office; I have met Mr. Pradeep Kumar who is the Promotional Activity Officer. I have taken the interview of him and got some information about IFFCO. I have mainly asked him about the Promotional Activity which they have done after march 31st 2012. Some of the activities they have done are 6 soil testing, 10 farmers meeting, they have till now 125 cooperative societies, 6 ganna society. They are also having 1 field office in which they have done 8 farmers meeting and they have 2 training cooperative staff. Recently they did farmers training and meeting in Bulandshehar. Some of the villages which come under Meerut district which IFFCO has totally covered it are Morna, Narangpur, Mehmoodpur, Gothawali khud, Nayabaans and last Gauripur.

SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMENDATIONS

AGRICULTURE DEVELPOMENT Providing new technology / information to the farmer and focus on balance fertilization and sustainable agriculture. CIP distributing with addition of micro nutrient also and assure the use in crop as per recommendation Select a specific area and providing technology in terms of farming system. Introducing flower, fruit and vegetable and other high valuable crop at farmers field. Soil test along with water test facility available at each office area level. Appropriate cost of production of fertilizer mentioned on bag so that the farmer realize valuable of product and subsidiary passed by govt. Monitory assistance for sprinkler / drip and micro irrigation equipments by the gov

EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Providing more budgets to expand on social scheme in village school. Students who are achieving maximum marks in their school provide some owner at any program

SPORTS Sports competition organized in cluster of village To provide sports material in the village through cooperative society

MEDICAL CAMPAIGN Medical checkup campaign organized every year in cluster of the villages Vet nary camps organized twice in a year and provide bullocks to the village for improving bred

LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

1. Farmers generally avoid providing their personal information. 2. As farmers are not much educated so they generally stick with their traditional farming system and avoid new technologies/methods suggested by different companies and organizations included IFFCO. 3. Generally information provided by the farmers is not much valuable for data interpretation. 4. Time is a limiting factor as this research is a time taking one and we are having only two months for research. 5. Villages in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh state and especially in Mahendragarh and Meerut region are widely spread so the access to the villages was quite difficult. 6. During face to face interview of different officers of IFFCO time was the limiting factor. 7. There was much information which was not provided by the officers as their company policies.

CONCLUSION
The promotional and agriculture activity of IFFCO do not limit itself towards increased use of fertilizers only but also aim at overall improvement in the socioeconomic standards of farming community. The society itself has taken up the responsibility to carry out different programme for rural up-liftment to full fill its social obligations. IFFCPO has extended help in distribution of study material, supply of safe drinking water facility in the village apart from regular social and community development. Services to farmers by way of transferring to them the knowledge of latest crop production technologies. These programme help close contact with the farmers. Farmers and cooperatives both are important to IFFCOs policy so promotional programmes are major role with contact of IFCO farmers and cooperative also. To contact regular farmers know about new releasing variety , fertilizer application method, water management , soil conservation etc through farmer meeting crop senior field day crop demonstration , soil testing campaign etc

Crop demonstration on balanced fertilizer application easily convenience to farmer to use balance fertilizer application Promotional programme formulating an idea about gap between production and fertilizer consumption between potential and present level, will provide a well targeted promotional strategy about crops and cropping pattern specific. A promotional program helps sustainable crop production and ecological balance. Promotional programme also provide diagnosis of field and crop related problems Correction of new emerging problems in terms of nutrient like sulphur and other micro nutrients through soil testing. Other fertilizers manufacturers do not provide knowledge as IFFCO is providing in its promotional programmes. IFFCOs promotional programmes are not only sales oriented but also based on socio economic condition of the farmers. Use of information technology in agriculture and input promotion is the new thrust of promotional activity of IFFCO. The sale point (farmer service centre) work as information centre also. So lastly we can conclude that these promotional programmes of IFFCO give an opportunity to interact with the farmers and maintain listening with farmer community and finally increase the socio economic condition of farmers as well as generate revenue for the organization.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS Marketing research by G.C Beri. IFFCO annual report 2008-09.
WEBSITES

www.google.com www.iffco.nic.in www.ezinearticles.com OTHERS

Secondary data given by Mr. N.K Salhotra , Chief Manager (marketing), IFFCO.

Questionnaire

Personal Information Sheet :(1) (2) (3) (4) Farmers name: District:Village/ Taluka:Land holding size:-

1. Total number of family members? 2. How many of them are engaged in agriculture? 3. Any other source of income, specify

4. What is your mode of irrigation? (a) Tube well (b) Well (c) Canal (d) Others, specify.. 5. Have u ever heard IFFCO? (a) Yes (b) No

6. How do you come to know about IFFCO? (a) Promotional activities (b) Friends and Relatives (c) From Market (d) Media

7. Which companys fertilizer you generally used? (a)IFFCO (b) KRIBHCO (c) CHAMBAL (d) others 8. Are you aware of any promotional activity conducted by IFFCO in your village? (a)Yes (b) No

9. If yes then which one? Name of the programme 10. Are you getting any sort of benefit from that particular program? ( a) Yes (b) No 11. If yes then how that program helps in your agriculture? 12. Is there any other company or agriculture organization other than IFFCO conducting promotional activities in your village? (a) Yes (b) No 13. Which companys promotional activity is better according to you? (a) IFFCO (b) KRIBHCO (c) Uttam (d) others. Specify_________ 14. Which programme you have attended? 15. Which new programme may be introduced for the benefit of farmers? 16. What do you suggest to improve the effectiveness of programmes?