MARKETING OF MANDARIN ORANGE IN JAJARKOT DISTRICT: A VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS

Abstract
The study was conducted to analyze the value chain of mandarin orange in Jajarkot district with the objective of drawing value chain map, defining linkage and value governance and finding major constraints. Total 82 respondents were interviewed by a semi-structured questionnaire including 60 farmers, 5 retailers, 5 collectors, 10 consumers, and 2 processors. EXCEL 2019 and SPSS 20 were used to enter and analyze data. Grading and sorting were major value-adding activities while processing was done at the retailer level in end markets. Grading fetched 4.188% and 3.94% more profit in contractor and consumer level respectively. The Most dominating channel was farmer-local consumer (46%) where farmers sold produce to Jajarkot fair. The Average price at farmgate, retailer, collector and contractor were 39.08/kg, 61.2/kg, 46.75/kg, and 49.75/kg respectively. Productivity of mandarin was found 8.54 mt/ha and B/C ratio was found 2.56. Margin in farmer-collector-retailer-consumer channel was 29.25 and in farmer-retailer-consumer channel was 23.08. Producer share was found highest in channel 5 (60.13%) and market efficiency was found higher in channel 3 (4.88%). Similarly, price spread in channels 3,4 and 5 were 34.33%, 64.19%, and 66.75% respectively. Vertical Integration included farmer and nurseries in backward linkage and farmer and farmer collector in the forward linkage. High transport cost was the reason for the high price of mandarin. Overall, the trade of mandarin in Jajarkot was found buyer-driven. Major problems related to marketing were poor storage (0.877) and processing facilities (0.833). The study revealed that mandarin production is profitable and potential in Jajarkot.