To understand the effect of Promotional Activities

and Transfer of Technology on building of Brand

IFFCO.

By

Akash Gupta

June 2014

1

To understand the effect of Promotional Activities

and Transfer of Technology on building of Brand

IFFCO.

By

Akash Gupta

Under the guidance of

Shri. Arun Dalal Dr. Parijat Upadhyay

Deputy General Manager (Marketing) Assistant Professor

IFFCO Ltd. IMT, Ghaziabad

June 2014

2

Certificate of Approval

The following Summer Project Report titled "To understand the effect of promotional

activities and transfer of technology on building of brand IFFCO" is hereby approved as a

certified study in management carried out and presented in a manner satisfactory to warrant

its acceptance as a prerequisite for the award of Post-Graduate Diploma in Management

for which it has been submitted. It is understood that by this approval the undersigned do not

necessarily endorse or approve any statement made, opinion expressed or conclusion drawn

therein but approve the Summer Project Report only for the purpose it is submitted.

Summer Project Report Examination Committee for evaluation of Summer Project Report

Name Signature

1. Faculty Examiner _______________________ ___________________

2. PG Summer _______________________ ___________________

Project Co-coordinator

3

Certificate from Summer Project Guides

This is to certify that Mr. Akash Gupta, a student of the Post-Graduate Diploma in

Management, has worked under our guidance and supervision. This Summer Project Report

has the requisite standard and to the best of our knowledge no part of it has been reproduced

from any other summer project, monograph, report or book.

Dr. Parijat Upadhyay Shri. Arun Dalal

Assistant Professor Deputy General Manager (Marketing)

IMT, Ghaziabad IFFCO Ltd.

IFFCO Sadan, C-1, Distt, Centre,

Date Saket Place, New Delhi-110017.

Date

4

Acknowledgement

I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind support and help of many individuals and organizations. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them.

I am highly indebted to Shri. Arun Dalal for their guidance and constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information regarding the project & also for their support in completing the project.I would like to express my gratitude towards my father, Mr. Ajit Gupta & member of IFFCO for their kind co-operation and encouragement, which helped me in completion of this project.I would like to express my special gratitude and thanks to Mr. Parijat Upadhyay, Assistant Professor, IMT Ghaziabad for giving me such attention and time.My thanks and appreciations also go to my colleague in developing the project and people who have willingly helped me out with their abilities.

Akash Gupta

IMT Ghaziabad

5

Abstract

The effect of promotional activity and transfer of technology on the

brand building of IFFCO

By

Akash Gupta

The growth in fertilizer consumption over the last five decade has only significant due to the

reason that it partially fulfills the nutrients requirement of the crop. The nutrient removal is 3-

6 times higher leading to nutrient mining. Occurrence of multi nutrient deficiency leading to

poor soil health and stagnation in productivity of crops. Promotional Activities conducted by

IFFCO provide the necessary knowledge about the latest technique, product and best

cultivation practice so that the production efficiency could be increased without the

degradation of the soil health. However, the main purpose of this research is to know the

effect of promotional activities and transfer of technology on the building of brand IFFCO.

This study used a survey method to know the perception of the farmers towards the company

and how they feel about the promotional activities that are been carried out by IFFCO. The

research has been done in 8 different villages of Haryana as Haryana being one of the main

consumers of fertilizer in the country.

The major findings are:

Promotional Activities has a huge effect on building of brand IFFCO, most of the

farmers feel that the promotional activities conducted by IFFCO have created a huge

difference in their living and in their production output and hence it has created a

positive image of IFFCO in the mind of farmer.

Most of the farmers prefer the IFFCO products over the products other companies, as

they feel more safe and secure while using IFFCO fertilizer. They have a complete

faith and trust in IFFCO products.

There is always a huge participation during a promotional program conducted by

IFFCO as the programs provide vital information about the latest technology, increase

in yield, cost saving technique, soil health increasing technique etc.

6

IFFCO has a huge network through its own Farmer Service Center and Cooperative

Societies through which reach and availability of IFFCO product is unlimited. This

helps the farmer in procurement of fertilizer without much effort.

Relation with the member of society plays a major role in perception of IFFCO. The

field officer plays a vital role in creating the image of IFFCO and currently they are

doing a tremendous job in their area.

Most of the farmers know about the latest products of IFFCO and their benefits

through the knowledge gain by IFFCO promotional program or by the IFFCO

officials, which is helping them to create proper use of all the products available in the

market in balanced manner.

Major data source is the information and feedback taken by 92 farmers in different villages of

farmer. The survey provided an in-depth knowledge of the effectiveness of promotional

programs and its effect on building of brand IFFCO.

Table of Contents

7

Page

Acknowledgement 5 Abstract 6-7Table of Contents 8List of Figures 9List of Appendices 10List of Abbreviations 11

I Introduction 12

1.1 Company Profile 121.1.1 Mission of the company 121.1.2 Vision of the Company 131.1.3 Plants of IFFCO 131.1.4 Diversification and Joint Ventures 13

1.2 Background to the problem 141.3 Farmer Development and better agriculture practice 15

II Research Design 16

2.1 Research Questions 162.2 Data Collection 172.3 Data Analysis 172.4 Literature Review 18

III Research Methodology 20

3.1 Data Analysis and Result 223.2 Other Findings 25

IV Scope and Limitation of the Research 31

V Conclusion and recommendations 32

References 33Appendices 34

List of Figures

8

Figure No. Description Page

1. Demographics of the sample population 212. Motivation for using Broadcasting at the time of sowing for 25

applying phosphatic fertilizer3. Motivation for using seed cum fertilizer drill for applying 26

phosphatic fertilizer4. Motivation for using soil testing facility 265. Motivation for buying fertilizer from cooperative society 276. Motivation for buying fertilizer from IFFCO Centers (FSC) 277. Action of farmer when society is unable to fulfill its requirements 288. Fig 8:Awareness of Fertilizer quantity in different crops 289. Fig 9:Awareness of IFFCO Products 2910. Fig 10: Reason for shift to IFFCO product 2911. Fig 11:Participation in IFFCO promotional programs 3012. Fig 12:Customer Ranking 30

List of Appendices

9

No. Description Page

1 Variable Data Set 342 Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Test 343 K-S Test for Normalization 354 Chi-Square Test: Hypothesis 1 365 Chi-Square Test: Hypothesis 2 376 Chi-Square Test: Hypothesis 3 377 Chi-Square Test: Hypothesis 4 388 Chi-Square Test: Hypothesis 5 39

10

Abbreviations

1. FSC- Farmers Service Center2. NPK- Nitrogen Phosphorus Potash fertilizer3. DAP- Di-ammonium Phosphate fertilizer4. WSF- Water Soluble Fertilizer5. SOP- Sulphate of Potash fertilizer6. IRDP- Integrated Rural Development Program

11

Introduction

Company Profile

The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO)

is one of the world’s largest fertilizer manufacturers.

They started with 57 cooperative societies and now

they have almost 39824 societies in 29 states and

union territories. The company was registered on Nov 3, 1967 as a Multi unit cooperative

society with the primary engagement in manufacturing and distribution of fertilizers.

Mission of the Company:

IFFCO's mission is "to enable Indian farmers to prosper through timely supply of reliable,

high quality agricultural inputs and services in an environmentally sustainable manner and to

undertake other activities to improve their welfare"

To provide to farmers high quality fertilizers in right time and in adequate quantities

with an objective to increase crop productivity.

To make plants energy efficient and continually review various schemes to conserve

energy.

Commitment to health, safety, environment and forestry development to enrich the

quality of community life.

Commitment to social responsibilities for a strong social fabric.

To institutionalize core values and create a culture of team building, empowerment

and innovation which would help in incremental growth of employees and enable

achievement of strategic objectives.

Foster a culture of trust, openness and mutual concern to make working a stimulating

and challenging experience for stakeholders.

Building a value driven organization with an improved and responsive customer

focus. A true commitment to transparency, accountability and integrity in principle

and practice.

To acquire, assimilate and adopt reliable, efficient and cost effective technologies.

Sourcing raw materials for production of phosphatic fertilizers at economical cost by

entering into Joint Ventures outside India.

To ensure growth in core and non-core sectors.

A true Cooperative Society committed for fostering cooperative movement in the

country.

Vision of the Company:

12

To augment the incremental incomes of farmers by helping them to increase their crop

productivity through balanced use of energy efficient fertilizers, maintain the environmental

health and to make cooperative societies economically & democratically strong for

professionalized services to the farming community to ensure an empowered rural India.

Plants of IFFCO:

IFFCO have five strategic locations for production and distribution of different kinds of

fertilizer throughout the country.

Ammonia –Urea complex at Kalol, Gujrat

NPK/DAP plant at Kandla, Gujrat

Ammonia-Urea unit at Aonla, Uttar Pradesh

Ammonia-Urea unit at Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh

NPK/DAP and Phosphoric acid fertilizer unit at Paradeep, Orissa

Diversification and Joint Ventures:

IFFCO has made several strategic investment and holdings in several joint ventures:

Indian Potash Ltd. (IPL) in India

Industries Chimiques su Senegal (ICS) in Senegal

Oman India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO) in Oman

Jordan India Fertiliser Company (JIFCO)

Kisan International Trading, FZE in Dubai

GrowMax Agri Corp. in Peru

IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance (ITGI)

National Commodity and Derivative Exchange (NCDEX)

National Collateral Management Services Ltd. (NCMSL)

IFFCO Chattisgarh Power Ltd. (ICPL)

IFFCO Canada enterprise Ltd. in Canada

IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Ltd. (IKSL)

Universal Commodity Exchange (UCX)

Background to the problem

13

Agriculture has undergone a lot of transformation since its development from subsistence

agriculture to agriculture as a commercial enterprise of the past decade. The execution of

promotional programs has also undergone a change according to the changing needs of farmer

and change in the environment so as to grow the production in the agriculture sector and

generate better opportunities of the farmers to have a better life. Different promotional

activities have been done by disjoint effort of different stakeholders. There is no main

organization to measure, collaborate the individual efforts for a complete holistic impact over

the agriculture sector. Their continuous efforts for awareness creation, application and

feedback of their respective agro inputs have created an effective marketing program.

Fertilizer industry as a main input supplier, has the in the top league in transfer of farm

technologies and knowledge about the product to the farmers through different initiatives.

This is done to achieve higher yields levels and have a sustainable livelihood, ensure

country’s food security in the long run. The Fertilizer industry with the help of Country’s

agriculture department helps by aiding and abetting the farmer’s choice for the best quality

fertilizer and implementation of modern cultivation technology and practices for a higher

yield of crops.

Agro-Scientists have developed various farm technologies, which are location and soil

specific to increase the productivity of soil, hence higher production of crops. Over the age

these technologies have undergone tremendous improvements in order to meet the

requirements of the farmers.

The growth in fertilizer consumption over the last five decade has only significant due to the

reason that it partially fulfills the nutrients requirement of the crop. The nutrient removal is 3-

6 times higher leading to nutrient mining. Occurrence of multi nutrient deficiency leading to

poor soil health and stagnation in productivity of crops. Some of the issues that require

continuous attention are:

Crop based approach to promote fertilizer user

Ensuring timely availability of fertilizer products in adequate quantity according to

the requirement of the farmer

Proper transmission of information through effective communication channels

Strengthening the effectiveness of transfer of technology

Promotional programs are done by different stakeholders of agriculture industry to bridge the

gap between a sustainable and effective technology generation, for the complete transfer to

the farmer. IFFCO has been playing a major role in Farmer’s Education and extension of farm

technologies, which has been the mandate of all the promotional activities for quite a long

time, but the main issue is to check the efficiency and effectiveness of these promotional

14

programs that are carried out by IFFCO. Are these promotional programs and transfer of

technology really helping the farmers in creating a positive image about IFFCO? Are these

activities helping to help farmers in a way that they believe in IFFCO? How these activities

are helping the IFFCO in their brand building?

Farmer Development and better agricultural practice

Fertilizer promotion, farmer development and agricultural extension programs are an integral

part of IFFCO’s marketing activity, however they also help in improving farming techniques.

The promotional activities carried out by IFFCO for the farmers are:

Training programs carried for the farmers at the manufacturing plants of IFFCO

where the farmer are provided a land on which best agriculture practices are taught to

him by the experts.

Village adoption program is carried in which a village is adopted for a period of 3 to

5 years for their all-round development with thrust on increasing the crop

productivity and introducing the best practices to the farmers.

Farmers meeting, field days and crop seminars is carried in which farmers are

provided information about latest technology, yield increasing methods, balanced

fertilizers, green manure, hybrid crops and many more by the officials/scientist from

agricultural universities, research institutes and government departments.

Soil sampling camps and mobile soil testing laboratories with audio-visual aid, which

help educating farmers on balanced and proper use of fertilizers.

Two plot demonstrations are carried out in which small area of farmers land is

divided into two parts, one of which is fed with the fertilizer that the farmer uses

regularly and the other part is fed with the fertilizer according to the recommendation

by the agriculture department according to the land. The difference in yield

demonstrates the effectiveness of balanced fertilization.

Research Design

15

Despite of the strong foothold in the agriculture sector, IFFCO still has the mixed customer

perceptions. This is a research undertaken to analyze the effect of promotional activities and

transfer of technology on building of brand IFFCO and the perception of farmers through

measurement of 2 parameters: customer awareness, brand image. These parameters have been

measured by conducting surveys to record the response of farmers. Customer awareness is the

one of the key factors, which describes awareness level of the farmer with the IFFCO product

and best cultivation practices; brand image defines the perception about IFFCO in the mind of

farmers. Questions pertaining to the following situations were framed in the questionnaire and

responses were collected from farmers. The results of the survey were subjected to a variety

of test methodology ranging from reliability to hypothesis testing. These tests were conducted

in order to perfectly determine the effect of promotional activities on building the brand

IFFCO. The results are summarized and can also be used for future development and

improvement of promotional activities by IFFCO to improve the perception of farmers.

On the basis of the above explanation I have come with the following objective

Research objective: “To understand the effect of promotional activities and

transfer of technology on building of brand IFFCO”

In simple terms I want to analyze the impact of promotional activities on farmers and on their

perception about IFFCO. I went through various researches done in this stream and out of

many variables I narrowed down to 2 variables to measure customer perception and customer

satisfaction. Thus I came up with following research questions.

Research Questions

1. What is the effect of promotional activities and transfer of technology on Brand

Image of IFFCO?

2. What is the effect of promotional activities and transfer of technology on

consumer awareness?

This is a quantitative research

This is because research has been done on how promotional activities and transfer of

technology affects the perception of the customers about IFFCO. I have derived my

conclusions and findings on existing theory and hence this research is a quantitative research.

Type of Research Design

This is a causal research design.

16

This is because it follows the cause and effect relationship. The causes are basically how the

promotional activities and transfer of technology help the customers, provide benefit to the

customer and the effect is basically the impact on the perception of the customer and their

level of awareness.

Data Collection

I collected the date through survey, seeking responses from the farmers of villages in

Haryana, India.

The factors on which the questionnaire was based are:

1. Acceptance (how many people use IFFCO products)

2. Knowledge (how much they know about the best farming practices)

3. Effectiveness (effectiveness of technology transfer)

4. Customer Service

5. Customer perception

Data Analysis

The data was analyzed using three methods:

Reliability tests

Central Tendency test

Hypothesis testing

Literature Review

17

Promotional Activities and transfer of technology has gained great significance as a function

and more & more companies focus a huge proportions of their budgets on these activities.

IFFCO has a wide spectrum of promotional activities carried out to cover varying local

conditions. Farmer meeting demonstrations, trainings, village adoption program and special

programs have become the core activities. Use of balanced fertilization and increased

efficiency of fertilizer use has been the main agenda for carrying out the promotional

activities. Use of IT system, cell phones and social media has helped the organization in

dissemination of information also in the most remote location. This initiative taken by IFFCO

to educate the farmer about the best cultivation practices has created a huge difference in the

yield output of agricultural products. The farmers also feel that these activities and other

camps have helped in creating a better life and sustainable income for them and their family.

1. As per My Simon Kwok & Mark Uncles the sales promotions are more effective

when they provide benefit to the end consumer and also described that even having

cultural differences in the society, the effectiveness of promotion program is not

affected.

2. According to Dr. A. Roy, Promotional programs are the means to reach the farmers

and sales point personnel for spreading of information about agricultural technology,

fertilizers particularly.

3. According to Aparna Mahajan with Kate Ives, IFFCO is doing far great more than is

perhaps expected in terms of improving business-community relationship.

Furthermore the initiative that stands out is agricultural extension and farmer

development programs and actively encourages learning through various programs.

4. According to Jaswinder Singh et al, there is requirement of enhancement in

agricultural field, which can provide solution to lot of programs. A lot of factors

account for proper growth of crops and a motivation is also required for farmers,

which can be provided by extension programs.

5. As per Isaac Minde et al, promoting the use of fertilizer and hybrid seeds includes

matching the supply and demand constraints through which the usage rates remain

low, especially for small land holding farmers. Inputs must be affordable, available,

profitable and easy to use without creating untenable financial risks.

6. Dr. D.K. Bhatt provided vital insight about thee promotional and other development

programs organized by IFFCO for the benefit of farmers. Dissemination of

agriculture technology from lab to land for a wide implementation and adoption is

very important and IFFCO’s contribution towards the services for farmer’s

18

community with the help of national and international organizations have create a lot

of difference in the minds of farmer.

7. A survey was conducted of farmers to study the awareness level of use of fertilizers,

its economics and also attitude/ purchase behavior of farmers which concluded

farmers background and behavioral aspect are very important for policy consideration

at both micro and macro levels for improving fertilizer marketing system.

8. As per Nilabja Ghosh, the government policies would be in popularizing the use of

fertilizer at farmer level through information dissemination, varietal improvement,

sales subsidies and risk coverage.

9. Farhad Sahed et al carried out a survey in Iran about the promotion and

communication tools, which stated that promotion and communication tools are one

of the most important part of every marketing strategy and plan. They also studied the

effectiveness of these marketing strategies as these plans are very expensive and

usual companies don’t have a sufficient budget.

Thus my literature review helped in finalizing the variables I used to measure the

effectiveness and thereby come to conclusion whether promotion and transfer of technology

is a fading past or a booming reality with a great scope in building of a brand. This review

helped me in analyzing the Indian Agriculture sector and IFFCO promotional activities.

Research Methodology

19

My research is a form of a quantitative research, which follows a casual research design

format where in I have examined the effect of promotional activities on Building of brand

IFFCO. The basic method I followed here was to identify two major parameters to form the

research questions, which can be related to Brand building of IFFCO. The two variables that I

choose are:

1. Brand image

2. Customer awareness

The process we went through was the survey method in which I identified 5 factors, which

will affect the main parameters as follows:

1. Brand image

Acceptance

Customer perception

Customer service

2. Customer Awareness

Knowledge

Effectiveness

Thus on the basic of above factors, questionnaire was designed and were asked to the sample

population through a survey on ground and total of 92 respondent were surveyed from

different villages of Haryana. A total of 10 villages were covered to collect the data. The

sampling technique used was simple random sampling technique wherein each element of the

society has the equal right to be the part of the sample population. A survey was distributed in

the village through the village coordinator and then response of the survey was duly filled. I

also segmented the sample population as per age, area of land that they acquire for farming

and qualification. Following are some charts regarding the sample population. I then

conducted various test on the response collected from the sample population by editing and

coding the data.

20

2%

16%

61%

21%

Age pattern

18-25

26-35

36-45

45 and above

50%

4%

46%

Education

Education be-yond High School

Graduate

Elementary Schooling

35%

43%

22%

Land Acquisition patern

less than 2 hectare2-5 hectarelarger than 5 hectare

97%

3%

The product they currently use

IFFCO

Others

21

Fig 1: Demographics of the sample population

Data Analysis and Results

After completing survey and interview of 92 respondents, various test on the data sample

were applied to reach the conclusion. The variables were coded for the purpose of analysis

using SPSS. (Ex-1)

I started the test for reliability in form of Cronbach’s Alpha, which I knew the benchmark rate

id 0.60

Hypothesis for Reliability: Cronbach’s Alpha test: (Ex-2)

H0: Sample population is reliable.

H1: Sample population is not reliable

Alpha value 0.718

Therefore I can see that there is a favorable level of reliability in our data sample collected, as

it is higher than the benchmark alpha

Next, check for validity of data, which is done through the content validity test. I use my

literature review for content validation.

Hypothesis for Normalization testing: Kolmogorov Smirnov test to check the normality. (Ex-

3)

H0: The variables follow normal distribution

22

H1: The variables do not follow normal distribution

P-value: 0.000

Thus, reject H0.

This shows that the data is not normal and is ordinal in nature, thus I use non-parametric test

to evaluate the data.

To check the dependency of variable on the sample, I used the Chi-square test.

Hypothesis for Non-parametric, Quantitative research: Chi-Square Test:

1. H0: Acceptance is independent of Promotional Activities of IFFCO

H1: Acceptance is not independent of Promotional Activities of IFFCO

P-value: 0.000(EX-4)

Thus, reject H0

Therefore, I can say that the Acceptance of IFFCO product is affected by the

Promotional Activities of IFFCO

2. H0: Customer Perception is independent of promotional activities of IFFCO

H1: Customer Perception is not independent of promotional activities of IFFCO

P-value: 0.000(EX-5)

Thus, reject H0

Therefore I can say that customer perception is dependent on the promotional

activities of IFFCO.

3. H0: Customer Service is independent of promotional activities of IFFCO

H1: Customer Service is not independent of promotional activities of IFFCO

P-value: 0.000(EX-6)

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Thus, reject H0

Therefore I can say that customer service given to the farmers by IFFCO officials is

dependent on the promotional activities of IFFCO.

4. H0: Knowledge is independent of promotional activities of IFFCO

H1: Knowledge is not independent of promotional activities of IFFCO

P-value: 0.000(EX-7)

Thus, reject H0

Therefore I can say that knowledge given to the farmers by IFFCO officials is

dependent on the promotional activities of IFFCO.

5. H0: Effectiveness is independent of promotional activities of IFFCO

H1: Effectiveness is not independent of promotional activities of IFFCO

P-value: 0.000(EX-8)

Thus, reject H0

Therefore I can say that effectiveness of technology transfer from the labs to farms

given to the farmers by IFFCO officials is dependent on the promotional activities of

IFFCO.

Thus I can say that all null hypotheses are rejected therefore all the factors are

affected by promotional activities of IFFCO. Therefore I cans say that both the

research questions are answered by the parameters so we can say that customer

perception and customer awareness are affected by promotional activities of IFFCO.

24

Other Findings:

The conducted survey helped me to gain an in-depth knowledge about the different aspects of

this industry. Few more findings that could be drawn out of the survey have been listed here.

75% of farmers who use SEED CUM FERTILIZER DRILL are motivated by

IFFCO promotional activities

There are two methods of applying the phosphatic fertilizer in the farm, one is the old

fashioned, less effective way i.e. broadcasting at the time of sowing and the other way is

using a seed cum fertilizer drill, which is a specially designed machine to get maximum

efficiency of the fertilizer and hence maximum output.

Through the survey, I came to know that still 50% of the farmers still use the old method of

cultivation because this practice has been carried out in their societies for years. There has

been a shift in this thinking and many farmers are moving towards the new technology and

using seed cum fertilizer drill for applying the phosphatic fertilizers.

25

2%

20%

76%

2%

Fig 2:Motivation for using Broadcasting at the time of sowing for applying phosphatic fertilizer

IFFCO OFFICIALS

IFFCO PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES

INFORMATION FROM THE STATE AGRICULTURE OFFICIALS

KRISHI VIGYAN KENDRA

SELF MOTIVATED

FARMERS SERVICE CENTER IFFCO

This change in thinking of farmer and the shift towards a better technique of farming has been

due to the different promotional activities carried out by IFFCO. Approximately 74% farmers

that use seed cum fertilizer drill is due to information provided by different IFFCO activates.

18%

35%

9%

23%

16%

Fig 3:Motivation for using seed cum fertilizer drill for applying phosphatic fertilizer

IFFCO OFFICIALS

IFFCO PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES

INFORMATION FROM THE STATE AGRI-CULTURE OFFICIALS

KRISHI VIGYAN KENDRA

SELF MOTIVATED

FARMERS SERVICE CENTER IFFCO

Soil testing facility-94% are motivated due to IFFCO promotional Activities

Soil testing facility is the technique in which the soil of the land is collected and tested for

deficiency of macronutrients and micronutrients. This soil testing facility is provided by

IFFCO for free of cost whereas district agriculture authorities, Krishi Vigyan Kendra and

26

other government body charge a minimal amount for this service or provide free of cost at

some villages.

Through the survey, currently 87% of the farmer population is using the soil testing facility

out of 94% said that the motivation behind using the soil testing facility was IFFCO

promotional programs. Farmers usually get information from many sources like agriculture

department and Krishi Vigyan Kendra.

DUE TO IFFCO PROMOTIONAL

ACTIVITIES

INFORMATION FROM THE

STATE AGRI-CULTURE OF-

FICIALS

FERTILIZER SALESMAN OF

SOCIETY

KRISHI VIGYAN KENDRA

SELF MO-TIVATED

FARMERS SERVICE CEN-

TER IFFCO

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100% 94%

46%

70%

11%

26%

80%

Fig 4:Motivation for using soil testing facility

Availability of fertilizer and relation with the society are the main reason for

increased sales

Farmers can buy fertilizer from three sources:

Cooperative Societies

IFFCO centers (FSC)

Private Dealer

According to the result of survey 56% farmers prefer to buy IFFCO products from the IFFCO

centers and 46% prefer to buy from cooperative societies due to its strong network even in a

remote village.

Motivation for purchasing of fertilizer from cooperative society is due to its network,

availability of stock, credit facility option and relation with the society.

27

QUALITY CREDIT FACILITY AVAILABILITY OF STOCK

RELATION WITH THE SOCIETY

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Fig 5:Motivation for buying fertilizer from cooperative society

Motivation for buying fertilizer from IFFCO center (FSC) is due to availability of stock and

relation with center. There is no credit facility available at IFFCO centers.

QUALITY AVAILABILITY OF STOCK RELATION WITH THE SOCIETY0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Fig 6:Motivation for buying fertilizer from IFFCO Centres (FSC)

87% Fertilizer requirement fulfillment

According to the survey conducted, the distribution channel of IFFCO, 13% demand is not

met, meets 87% of the farmers need. If the cooperative society or the IFFCO center is unable

to fulfill the demand of farmer, then the action carried out by the farmer is show in the

diagram below.

28

12%

29%

18%

41%

Fig 7:Action of farmer when society is unable to fulfill its re-quirements

Use Whatever is available with the society

Would go to other society, pur-chase the product of some other company

purchase the product of some other company

Wait for the product

100% self motivated for quantity of fertilizer to applied for different crops

My finding in this scenario is that as most of the farmers are doing farming from generation,

they know how much fertilizer they need to apply to obtain the desired result. Still they

appreciate the efforts of IFFCO in updating their knowledge about new technology and best

cultivation practices.

AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALSIFFCO PROMOTIONAL PROGRAMS

IFFCO OFFICIALS(F.O.)FERTILIZER SALESMAN

T.V.,RADIO, NEWSPAPERS SMS

KRISHI VIGYAN KENDRAFARMERS SERVICE CENTER IFFCO

SELF MOTIVATION

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

64%80%

29%34%

45%36%

42%38%

100%

Fig 8:Awareness of Fertilizer quantity in different crops

100% Awareness about IFFCO Products

According to the result of the survey, farmers have complete knowledge about UREA, DAP,

NPK (12:32:16) and WSF (18:18:18) and awareness about other products are also increasing

with the help of IFFCO promotional activities and information from the IFFCO centers

(FSC).

29

UREA

DAP

NPK (12:32:16)

WSF(18:18:18)

UREA PHOSPHATE

SOP

BORON

ZINC SULPHATE

SULPHUR BENTONITE

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

Fig 9:Awareness of IFFCO Products

12% increase in farmers using IFFCO products

According to the survey conducted, there has been a shift of 12% farmers from product of

other companies to IFFCO products. This shift is due to the following reasons:

47%

20%

17%

17%

Fig 10: Reason for shift to IFFCO product

Availabilty of product

Credit facility available

Influence of the promoitional activity

Realtion with the society/dealer

More than 90% participation in IFFCO promotional programs

Farmers have shown lot of enthusiast and participation during each and every promotional

program. The reason for less participation in a particular program is due to its low frequency

and not due to low participation.

30

TRAINING PROGRAMSVILLAGE ADOPTION PROGRAM

FARMERS MEETINGFIELD DAY

CROP SEMINARCAMPAIGNS

SOIL SAMPLINGINTRODUCTION OF HYBRID CROPS

GREEN MANURETWO PLOT DEMONSTRATIONS

BIO COMPOSTWATER SOLUBLE FERTILIZER SEMINAR

BIO FERTILIZER

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%100%

Fig 11:Participation in IFFCO promotional programs

87% farmers marked IFFCO as their First preference for buying fertilizers

87% of the farmers have given IFFCO as their first preference for buying fertilizer and rest

13% has given their second preference for IFFCO products.

1st 2nd 3rd0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Fig 12:Customer Ranking

SFC(SHRIRAM)

IFFCO

NFL-KISAN UREA

KRIBHCO

CHAMBAL FERTILIZER

IPL

Scope and Limitation of the Research

I have made every effort to make my research as comprehensive and complete to answer my

research question however there has been certain limitations to my research which are due

31

factors as lack of availability of time, lack of availability of complete information and various

similar factors. Thus I have listed down the scope and limitations to the following:

My primary target for my research were farmers living in North India but due to lack

of time and resources, I was able to survey only the farmers in Haryana, India. Thus

the scope of the report is limited only to Haryana and the results may vary if when

taking the finding from parts of India.

Next limitation came in form of the variables that I chose for the research. My scope

of research restricted me to only two major parameters of brand building i.e. customer

perception and customer awareness. However other research design could have

included various other factors like customer satisfaction, return on investment and

many more. Thus when I answer my research objective with only two questions, the

answer could have been different if more variables were selected.

My sampling technique involve random sampling but in the villages where IFFCO

promotional activities are been conducted. Most of the responses are from the farmers

of the adopted village and the result may change if responses from all villages are

accepted.

Another limitation is that the research is based on sampling technique rather than

census. There is obvious difference between the found result and actual. In other

words, the perception of our sample may not be the same as the perception of the

whole population.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Thus by conducting the research, I can to a conclusion that there is a positive impact of the

promotional activities on the brand building of IFFCO in term of customer perception and

32

customer awareness. This is linked to the research objective. The research also shed light on

the effectiveness of the promotional activities that are been carried out by IFFCO. During the

research, one of the finding is that farmers think that these programs help them a lot in

learning about new techniques and best cultivation practices and they feel grateful to IFFCO

for providing such services.

Following are some recommendation that I suggest:

1. Farmers are very enthusiast to learn about new techniques and technology, so more

and more promotional program should be conducted

2. New areas other than the adopted village should be selected for spreading the

information

3. More emphasis should be provided to the farmers to use the best cultivation practices

like using seed cum fertilizer drill and soil testing facility

4. Incentives should be provided to farmers and the promoter so that engagement level

is increased

5. The promotional activity should also be conducted at packs level so that they could

disseminate the information to the villages connected to them

6. Company should increase

There is a huge dependency of brand image and brand building on the promotional activities

and transfer of technology, so therefore the company should invest more in promotional

activities that are been conducted.

Reference:

Muthusamy, A. & Karpagalakshmi, S. (Dec, 2011), A study of sales trend and cost

structure of Indian Fertilizer Industry, Management Insight, Vol.VII, No.2.

33

Sharma, Vijay Paul & Thaker, Hrima (Feb 2010), Economic Policy Reforms and

Indian Fertilizer Industry, Center for Management in Agriculture (CMA), Indian

Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Sing, Jaswinder et al (2013), A questionnaire on survey of problem facing by

agriculture field using data mining, International Journal of Computer Technology &

Application, Vol 4 (2), 295-301

Minde, Issac; Jayne, T.S.; Crawford, Eric; Ariga, Joshua; and Gavereh, Jones (Nov

2008), Promoting Fertilizer use in Africa: current issues and empirical evidence from

Malawi, Zambia and Kenya, Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support

System, South Africa

Bhatt, D.K. (April 2006), IFFCO in the service of Farmers, Indian Journal of

Fertilisers, Vol. 2 (1), pp.11-20

Roy, A. (2013), Reorientation of Promotional Programs- IFFCO’s Experience

Mahajan, Aparna with Ives, Kate, a case study on IFFCO-Enhancing Business-

Community Relations, New Academy of Business, University of TERI.

Ghosh, Nilabja, Promoting Bio-Fertilizers in Indian Agriculture, Institute of

Economic Growth, University Enclave, Delhi

Roy, A. (2010), Agricultural services and Promotional Activities 2007-2008/2008-

2009, IFFCO publication, New Delhi.

45th Annual Report 2012-2013, IFFCO Limited.

Nath, Ashish (2011), Technology Transfer & R&D in the Indian Chemical Industry,

The Indian Journal of Industries Relations, Vol. 47, No. 1, July 2011.

Mason, Roger B. (2008), Word of mouth as a promotional tool for turbulent markets,

Journal of Marketing Communications, Vol.14, No.3, July 2008, pp. 207-224

Chidmi, Benaissa; Hanson, Terry; and Nguyen, Giap (2012), Effect of promotional

activities on Substitution pattern and market share for aquaculture products, Journal of

Food Distribution Research, Volume 433, Issue 1

Appendices

Ex-1.Variable Data Set

34

Ex-2. Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Test

Ex-3. K-S Test for Normalization

35

Ex-4. Chi-Square Test: Hypothesis 1

36

Ex-5. Chi-Square Test: Hypothesis 2

37

38

EX-6. Chi-Square Test: Hypothesis 3

39

Ex-7. Chi-Square Test: Hypothesis 4

Ex-8. Chi-Square Test: Hypothesis 5

40

41