SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

To study the impact of brand awareness and consumer

behaviour of herbicides in Pune.

Submitted By:
Rahul Manyagol (PRN: 17020242004)

Under the guidance of

Mr. Sushant Malik

Submission Date:
23.01.2019

Written for the dissertation purpose at

Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune
 Acknowledgment

I would like to thank my mentor Mr. Sushant Malik under the guidance of
whom, I was able to complete this dissertation. He has been very supportive to
guide me on the theme of the dissertation, suggesting me appropriate changes in
the questionnaire developed for both interview and survey. He also took time to
review my work every now and then suggesting me ideas and a way forward for
all the obstacles I faced during my dissertation. It was due to the time and
efforts of my mentor, that I was encouraged to work on this dissertation and
bring out the best of efforts in completing it
I would also then our HOD Dr. Nisha Bharti for constantly guiding me in the
dissertation and preparing the various methods that proved to be useful during
the dissertation.
I would also like to thank the participants of my survey and interview, without
whom the core analysis wouldn’t have been possible. Due to their co-operative
and supportive nature.
I would also thank Mr. Ketan Manek from Agrostar for allowing me to
interview the farmers which are associated with their company for my
dissertation work and collecting the information along with the survey done.

Thank you,
Rahul Manyagol
MBA AB 2017-2019
Index

INDEX Heading

1) Acknowledgement

2) Executive Summary

3) Introduction to project

4) Industry Profile

5) Company Profile

6) Data analysis and data

presentation

7) Summery and findings

8) Suggestion and
conclusion

9) Bibliography and
website reference
Executive summary

In the last 4 decades the growth in the India agriculture has been observed to be
increase with a CAGR of 3%. Today the agriculture contributes to the 1/5 th of
the total GDP. The overall production of the nation has increased over the past
years but the productivity remains the same for years. Majorly due to less
fertility and one of the major reason for this being the losses to the crops due to
Pest and Insects along with it one more reason that is the weeds in the field.
Weeds are the plants not planted by the farmer. They dominate the land and are
hard to eradicate along with being major reason of the crop losses as they
compete with the major crop for the water and nutrient supressing the growth of
the main crop resulting in the losses as the production decreases. If we see the
losses due to the weeds is 35% in final production. Leading to which to control
the spread of weed herbicide market has increased over the past years and
accounts to 50% of all the Agrochemicals sold in the world are Herbicides. As
weed control with the help of the chemicals is cheaper as compared to
traditional practices it is become the most used method for weed control.
This report was made considering in to the account of weed present in the area
of Pune district and the crop loss faced by the farmers due to the weeds.
Questionnaire was used to record the responses from the farmers and then the
interaction with them also resulted in helping to analyse the results to know the
brand awareness among the farmers and to study the consumer behaviour for
purchasing the herbicides form the retailer. This project also helped in the
understanding of the supply chain of the Agri input market.
Some of the data collected in this report is from the observations of my Summer
internship as well as the in depth situation analysis was done during the live
project in the done in Yavatmal of BVG where there has been reported lives
loss due to the pesticides. The direct interaction with the farmers, dealers and
the distributors made in the actual analysis and the results are based on the
same.
Industry profile

If we see in the past many years the growth of the Agricultural sector has been
increasing throughout the world because of better seeds, improved Agricultural
practices, better weed and pest control and the disease control accounts for the
same. But it has also been noticed that in the developing countries as compared
to the developed countries there has been a shift of practices from the traditional
ones to the improved ones. Due to which the production of the crops has also
increased in these countries.

Geographical Distribution

If we see the geographical distribution we can observe that the main

concentration of use of the crop protection has taken place in the developed
countries such as the United States and the Europe. With Europe having the
largest share then comes Asia, Latin America, and North America. It has been
seen that there is increase in the usage in the European countries in the recent
year’s in order to get high yields and returns. Where as in India the mail crop
which consumes the chemical is crop and the high prices of rice has led to the
increased use the Agrochemicals. In case of Latin America the increased
production of sugarcane has led to the increase in the consumption.

It can be inferred further that the reach of these chemicals will be growing in the
coming years mainly in the developing markets as the developed countries
markets has attained the maturity.

Indian market overview

In India the market overview is that out of the total chemical market the crop
protection market is of about 2%. As per the data India is the second largest
manufacturer of Agrochemicals in Asia, followed by japan. The growth of the
industry is approx. 9% per annum. Over the years the industrial growth is
measured and with the size estimated to 4 billion US dollars and the growth
exports are about 50%. And in the coming years is expected to grow at the rate
of 14% per annum. To reach about the 8 billion dollars. And increasing the
export demand to 16% per annum.
Paddy and cotton are the major consumers of crop protection chemicals
accounting for 28% and 20% respectively of the total domestic crop protection
chemicals market. In recent years, consumption of insecticides has decreased
due to the introduction of BT cotton, which has lower risk of pest attacks. As a
result, pesticides usage on cotton as % of total has decreased from 33% in 2005
to 20% in 2009
Share of paddy in the total crop protection chemicals has increased from 24% in
2005 to 28% in 2009.The top three states Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and
Punjab account for 50% of the total pesticide consumption in India. Andhra
Pradesh is the largest consumer of pesticides with a share of 24%.

Indian scenario

India is known to have a qualified low cost manpower and a good

manufacturing power in Agrochemicals, and exporting to the countries such as
African countries, USA and EU nation. The major hurdle in the industry is high
storage or the inventory due to irregular monsoons, and the difference in the
climate throughout India. It is because of these situations there is an intensive
working.

Domestic consumption

In India the consumption of the crop protection is considered to be among the

lowest in the world. The consumption of chin is 14kg/ha and USA being 7kg/ha
that of India is only 0.5kg/ha. There are many reasons accounting to this low
consumption one of which is the low purchasing power of the farmers, limited
availability of the products etc.

Source: Industry reports.

The sales of the crop protection happens in the rural India so the companies use
mainly three tier system for their sales and the distribution

Manufacturer Formulators

Distributors Retailers
Retailers/ Dealers

Formulator

Retailers Customers Distributors

Any company may have a sales force allotted through these three tier system.

The Indian market is highly fragmented market. Having more than 800
formulators in the country resulting in the high consumption by the farmers in
crops with the availability of large number of organised players and a diverse
product portfolio in the choice of the Agrochemicals. Key market participants
include UPL, Bayer Crops science Ltd, Rallis India Ltd, Gharda Chemicals Ltd,
Syngenta India Ltd, BASF India Ltd, etc. these are the market leaders and
dominate the market of Indian Agrochemicals.
Break-Up of Agrochemical Industry

It can be seen that in India the herbicides used is 17% as compared to the world
where Herbicide accounts to the major Agrochemical with 46%. In India the
major Agrochemical is the Insecticides and the world has only 26%
consumption as compared to India where it is 61%
State wise consumption

Source: Agriculture statistics GoI

In India the state of Andhra Pradesh consumes the largest Agrochemical
followed by Maharashtra and then by Punjab. It can be noted that these states
are the leading states in the production of various grains and fruits and
vegetables.
NEED OF THE STUDY

1. Herbicide are major pesticide used on crops in Pune districts.

2. To know the effective mean of marketing activities or programme, to
promote the herbicides in market.
3. Understanding the herbicide market and various herbicide used in Pune
district.
4. Understanding the potential Herbicides and various crop grown in Pune
district.

OBJECTIVES

1. To evaluate the Customer Perception about various brands of herbicides.

2. To know the effective marketing activity or marketing programme.
3. To find out the profile and percentage of customers with respect to
herbicides.
4. To evaluate the brand awareness of herbicides brands among the
Customers.
5. To evaluate ways to improve Brand Awareness and Perception about
herbicides among the Customers.
6. To study dealer/distributor perception about herbicides brands.
7. To know planning of Implementation of the brand promotional activities
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The survey was conducted on 50 farmers, 2 distributer and 10 dealers of Pune

district with the help of personal and group interview with farmers and response
is noted.

Tools for data collection

Questionnaire containing both open ended and closed ended questions were
used as main tools for data collection from the farmers, distributor and dealers.

Source of information
Primary information:
1. farmers
2. dealers
3. distributers survey
Secondary information
1. Website
2. Articles
3. Historical data
4. Research paper.

Research technique

 Personal interview & group Discussion

Population

Population for study selected was all paddy and maize crop growers in Pune
District
Sample Design

1. Sample Size: - 50 Farmers from 10 villages

2. Sample Unit: - Farmers

Sampling Technique: - Stratified random sampling (strata based on the land

holding size)

Tools For analysis

1. Questionnaire
2. Industry analysis
3. Graphs, bar diagram, Pie chart etc

Limitations

1) Time constrains was one of the limitations in carrying out study.

2) Non-availability of farmers and busy schedule of farmers and dealers during
day time.

Location

This project was conducted in Pune district of Maharashtra .Given below is the
list of villages where promotional activities like farmer meeting, group
discussion, individual farmer contact, van campaign, Tele-campaign, poster
campaign was carried out by various companies

1. Asade
2. Barpe Bk.
3. Bhoini
4. Bhoirwadi
5. Hotale
 6. Jatede
7. Kalamshet
8. Karmoli
9. Kondhawale
Maded

Findings

1. Farmers are depends upon many factors for making purchase decision but
they give prime importance to the quality and results of particular
product.
2. Dealers were reported to be important source of information to the
farmers and they were having huge impact on their decision making.
Buying behaviour of farmers were studied with respect to different
segments in Agri-input industry.
3. Buying behaviour was mainly depending on some of the crucial factors
like brand awareness, credit policies of dealer, dealer’s opinion,
availability of product and its price.
4. Farmers were more aware about different awareness activities taken by
the company to promote the product. Company was also concentrating
this segment due to higher consumption rate and brand loyalty to the
quality brands. Degree of awareness was decreased with decreased land
holding. Farm meeting was found to be the most effective source of
awareness as it has very good conversion rate in final purchase.
5. Field visits were also rated higher by the farmers irrespective of their land
holding and it helped to build the good brand image in the minds of
farmers due to proper feedback mechanism by the company compare to
the other competitors. Farm meeting followed by jeep campaigning was
most effective method as it act as a reminder to the farmers.
6. The study revealed that area under Rice crop is increasing. Market
potential of Rice herbicides is very high.
7. Channel conflict between dealer and distributor.
8. The study revealed in its findings that quality, dealers‟ recommendation
and brand image are important factors for purchasing of herbicides.
Further demonstration followed by field day, individual contact and
farmers meeting emerged as useful promotional activities which have
significant influence on sales.
DATA ANALYSIS AND DATA PRESENTATION

Paddy Cultivation Area According to Land Holding

Corn Cultivation Area According to Land Holding

Herbicide use pattern in Pune for paddy crop

Interpretation: As Maharashtra is an agrarian state so percentage of the use of

herbicide is more as the data collected it is 97%.
Awareness about Brands

Number of Farmer

YES
No
32 %

68 %

Brand awareness

Interpretation: About 68 % of the farmers are aware about various brands of

herbicides.

SOURCE OF PURCHASE OF HRBICIDE

Interpretation- from the pie chart 52% farmers buy from dealers and retailers,
27% farmers buy from distributer and remaining 20% buys from cooperative
society and commission agent.

Market share of herbicides (area wise)

Market share of herbicides ( area wise )

percentage share
2% 2% 2%

11%

6%
Fastmix
Machete
topstar
pretilaclore
other butaclore 50% EC
other butaclore 50% EW

78%
market share of herbicide

Products Observed value of sample Percentage share (Ha)

Fastmix 2 2.1
Machete 1 1
topstar 3 3
pretilaclore 77 77
other butaclore 50% EC 5 5
other butaclore 50% EW 10 10
Total 100 100

Percentage share
10% 9%

4% 6%
1%
Fastmix
Machete
topstar
pretilaclore
other butaclore 50% EC
other butaclore 50% EW

Share of market accourding to number

70% of farmers observed

SUGGESTION AND CONCLUSION

Suggestion
1. Introduction of loyalty scheme to the dealers which will include the
bonus points on the sales.
 2. Opinion maker and educated farmers should be focused in demonstration
campaign, who in return would convey the good results of Fast mix to
other farmers.
3. As individual contact was found to be as effective promotional activity
therefore more individual contacts should be done before crop season.
4. Since dealers/retailers is one of the main factor which influence the
buying behavior so attractive incentives schemes should be launched for
them.
5. Profit margin for distributor and dealer should be increased.
6. Some of the farmers mentioned about problem of duplicates in their area
so increase the promotional activity for rooting out the duplicates

Conclusion

Perception of the farmers related to brand promotional activities varies from

farmer to farmer based on their land holding size. Based on the analysis done
using different tools for analysis in the project it can be said that out of the
different brand promotional activities planned like farmer’s meeting/group
discussion, individual contact, posters/POP display/banners, tele-campaign, jeep
campaign and advertising and it was found that marginal farmers consider the
jeep campaign and field visit to be the most effective tool for brand promotion
and Demo’s to be the least effective whereas large farmers perceived that jeep
campaign, field visit and farmer meet to be the most effective tool for brand
promotion whereas demo’s to be the least effective and the Dera farmers
perceived that individual contact is the most effective tool for brand promotion
whereas posters/POP display/banners to be the least effective.

So in totality it can be said that farmer’s meeting/group discussion, individual

contact and tele-campaign were the most effective tools for brand promotion.
Besides this company should do brand promotions and gradually try to remove
machete from market to promote cannibalism.

The company (Sinochem India company private limited) is having good market
share but the market has huge potential and the company can increase its market
share using these brand promotional activities.
BIBLIOGRAPHY / REFERENCES

1. Philip kotler, Keller, Koshy, Jha, Marketing Management, pearson

publication, 13th edition,
page number (86-113)
2. K Malhotra, Naresh.2003.Marketing Research - An applied orientations. Fifth
edition, New
3. Delhi: Pearson Education, Inc. and Dorling Kindersley Publishing Inc., page
number (245-356, Garrett score table)
4. Suja R. Nair, Consumer Behavior in Indian Perspective, Himalaya publishing
house, 2003edition, page number (39-70,229-269)
5. Indian Agrochemical industry paper at FICCI.
6. Analysis of Farmers purchase behaviour, Krishikosh.