REPORT ON

PRODUCTION AND MARKETING SYSTEM OF WATERMELON IN SOME SELECTED

AREAS OF PATUAKHALI DISTRICT

PATUAKHALI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

PRODUCTION AND MARKETING SYSTEM OF WATERMELON IN SOME SELECTED AREAS OF PATUAKHALI DISTRICT

Prepared For

Prepared byGroup: 01(Warrior)

Level-II, Semester-IIFaculty of Business Administration and Management

Sl. No. Name of the students Position Roll No. Reg. No.

01 Md. Kamruzzaman Group Leader 01 00660

02 Shuvradeb Barai Asst. Group leader 09 00668

03 Abu Zafour Member 21 00680

04 Sahana Parveen Member 07 00666

05 Nazmul Alam Siddiqui Member 25 00565

Introduction to Social ScienceCourse Code: AES 224

Date of submission: 23 August 2007

Mr. Md. Mokbul Hossain Assistant Professors

Department of Agro. Economics and Rural Sociology

Faculty of Business Administration and Management

Mr. Md. Mokbul Hossain Assistant Professors

Department of Agro. Economics and Rural Sociology

Faculty of Business Administration and Management

PATUAKHALI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

Date: 23 August 2007

To Mr. BadiuzzamanAssistant ProfessorsDepartment of Agro. Economics and Rural SociologyFaculty of Business Administration and Management

Subject: Letter of Transmittal

Dear Sir,

Here is the report on “Production and Marketing System of Watermelon in Some Selected Areas of Patuakhali District” you asked us to prepare this report as a course requirement of Introduction to Social Science.

This report focuses on the Introduction to Social Science. We are proud of making this report. We have tried our level best to make the report informative and fruitful. For any classification we will be available and looking for such term paper in coming days. We will be happy to get such type of report further.

Sincerely Yours

Md. Kamruzzaman(Group Leader)Group: 01(Warrior)Level-II, Semester-IIFaculty of Business Administration and Management

Acknowledgment

At first we desire to express our deepest sense of gratitude of almighty Allah.

With profound regard we gratefully acknowledge our respected course teachers

Mr. Md. Mokbul Hossain and Mr. Badiuzzaman Assistant Professors, Department

of Agro. Economics and Rural Sociology, Faculty of Business Administration and

Management for generous help and day to day suggestion during the survey.

We like to give thanks especially to our friends & many individuals, for their

enthusiastic encouragements and helps during the preparation of this report and for

their assistance in typing and proofreading this manuscript.

III

III

Executive Summary

This report is an assigned job as a partial fulfillment of course requirement by

honorable Course teachers Mr. Md. Mokbul Hossain and Mr. Badiuzzaman

Assistant Professors, Department of Agro. Economics and Rural Sociology

Faculty of Business Administration and Management Patuakhali Science and

Technology University. It is the optimum aggregated outcome of 5 pupils’ about

“Production and Marketing System of Watermelon in Some Selected Areas of

Patuakhali District”.

Bangladesh has been a producer and exporter of agricultural products including

watermelon for long. The traditional items like jute and tea have been the major

foreign exchange earner of the country. With the passing of time jute started

loosing its position in international market and to cope with the situation, efforts

have been made to develop export trade of nontraditional agricultural items like

tobacco, fruits, vegetable and watermelon etc. but now the watermelon cultivation

and the cultivars come to threat. To protect this industry it needs to import policy,

credit and research. If it is possible then the watermelon could be earned the

greatest portion of foreign currency, which will make our economy strong.

The view of this report is to find out from the different some selected areas

Patuakhali district.

IV

Contents

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………… ...……...….….01

►1.1OriginoftheReport…………………………………………………………...……02

►1.2 Purpose of the Report………………………………………………………...…..03

►1.3 Limitation and Scope of the report. ………………………………………..….…04

►1.4 Mythology of Study …………………………………………………...…..….....05

2. Description

►2.01 Watermelon…..………………….……………………………...……………..…...06

►2.02 Livelihood of watermelon Cultivator……………..……………..

……....................07

►2.03 Information regarding problems faced by the farmers form livelihood…….…..…14

►2.04 Production of Watermelon………...…………………………..…………….....…..15

►2.05 Information regarding problems faced by the farmers in Production Sector …...... 22

►2.06 Marketing of Watermelon…………………………………………….………........23

►2.07 Information regarding problems faced by the farmers Marketing Sector.…......….25

3. Recommendations………………………………………………………….......…...……….26

4. Conclusion…………………………………………………………..……..….………..…....28

5. Bibliography ……………………………………………………..…..……….......................29

6. Appendix…………………………………………………………………….…..………….30

Section – 2

Section–1

Section – 3

Section – 4

Section – 5

introductionBangladesh has an overwhelmingly agricultural economy. Agriculture accounts for

32% of its gross domestic product (GDP), and absorbs 63% of the country’s labor

force. Sustained government investment in irrigation facilities, rural infrastructure,

agricultural research, and extension services has helped Bangladeshi farmers

achieve dramatic increases in agricultural production. The process of agricultural

production is, however, underpinned by the increasing use of agrochemicals and

multiple cropping. And while significant production transformation has been

achieved and food production has more than doubled since independence in 1971,

these have mostly supported the country’s large population base rather than

uplifting the living standards of the average citizen. Food security still remains a

major development issue. Thus, the government of Bangladesh has called for a

departure from “rice-led” growth to a more diversified production base that

includes several non-rice crops.

1

V

Origin of the report

We are lucky to say that our honorable course teachers Mr. Mokbul Hossain

and Mr. Badiuzzaman Assistant Professors, Department of Agro. Economics

and Rural Sociology, Faculty of Business Administration and Management.

Assigned us a report on “Production and Marketing System of Watermelon in

Some Selected Areas of Patuakhali District” This report is prepared on the

basis of surveying the different selected areas of Patuakhali district.

2

Purpose of the Report

As a business expectative of future, we should have to gather experience

beside our survey. We should not concern our lesion only in classroom but to

implement it in practical life that will help us in our future life .A clear

objective help in preparation of well decorated report in which other take the

right type of decision. So, we identifying objectives is very much important.

Our purpose of preparing the report is:

► To know about watermelon Cultivator

► To know Information regarding problems faced by the farmers form livelihood

► To know about Production of Watermelon

► To know Information regarding problems faced by the farmers in Production

Sector

► To know about Marketing of Watermelon.

► To know information regarding problems faced by the farmers Marketing Sector.

3

Limitation & Scope of the Report

As a student of faculty of Business Administration and Management, 4 th semester,

this is our first initiative for making a report on “Production and Marketing System

of Watermelon in Selected Area of Patuakhali” by meeting a survey. Beside this

we have faced the following hindrances in preparing this report:

► Lack of knowledge and experience

► Short of time

► Lack of computer facilities

► Lack of sufficient privileges

► Lack of communication facilities

The survey report focuses on the marketing and production of watermelon of

different selected area of Patuakhali. The survey may not be more comparable or

more valid. Moreover, the report is emphasized on the primary data such as

interview of the farmers. Here we consider only the information that we collect

from our survey.

4

Methodology of the Study

This report is prepared on both primary and secondary data from our survey.

Initially, the work is started with data those were collected from the farmer.

Moreover, it becomes helpful to gather some more information from the Union

Parishad as well as Agriculture officer of Upazila.

In preparing the term paper we have maintained the following steps:

1. Selection of the samples in different places of Patuakhali.

2. Collect information.

3. Take advice from the students of 1st.

4. Process of information.

5. Final preparing of report.

5

Watermelon

The sweet juicy pulp of the ripe fruit is eaten fresh. Watermelon is a valuable alternative to drinking water in desert areas. The dried parched seeds are chewed, particularly in Southern China. They are sometimes ground and baked into bread. Oil extracted from the seeds is used in cooking and as an illuminant; the seed-cake can be used as livestock feet. It is grown in India for its small round fruits, the size of small turnips, which are cooked as a vegetable and are also made into preserves and pickles. Lanatus is a native of tropical and subtropical; Africa, where a form with small, somewhat bitter in spontaneous in some area. It is of ancient cultivation in the Mediterranean region and was grown in Egypt in remote times. It reached India in prehistoric times. It reaches India in prehistoric times, but was not taken to China until the 10th or 11th century A.D. It was taken to the New World in post- -Columbian times and is now widely spread throughout the topics.

Watermelons are grown throughout the tropics and subtropics, but do best in the hot drier areas with and abundance of sunshine. They are killed by frost. They grow best on fertile sandy soil, particularly on sandy river banks. They ate fairly drought-resistant and will not stand water logging. Watermelon cultivation is an aristocratic and traditional culture. The direction of the watermelon cultivation is downward in spite of the sufficient possibilities for the development of the watermelon cultivation in the country. The future of the watermelon cultivation in our country is totally dependent upon the coordinated efforts of the government, non-government organizations and the watermelon cultivators.

6

Livelihood of watermelon cultivators

We are the 5 peoples made our survey on the Kuakata, Khepupara, Misripara,

Alipur, Mohipur, etc. are main production area of water melon in Patuakhali

district. Our survey was made on 25 cultivators of water melon in those areas. The

aggregate result of our survey is given below:

Farmer’s age

Most of the farmers began their cultivator’s life from generation. A chart can view

the age.

Level of education

Most of the cultivators are not well educated. A few of them passed out from

primary level. Then they hardly get higher education, and the others are mostly

illiterate. They don’t have any academic knowledge as well as knowledge of

production of watermelon.

Level of education PercentagePrimary 56Secondary 28Higher secondary 16Higher secondary+ -

7

Family Status

The most of the family have four or five children. They are not well educated and

get married at their early age. They have no family planning and future thinking to

get better position in the society.

Occupation

Watermelon cultivation is an aristocratic and traditional culture. Some of them

were working in other sectors such as – labor, rickshaw Pooler, small business,

shopkeeper, and others, which are shown in the following figure:

8

Figure: Different occupation followed by watermelon cultivators

Level of income and expenditure of the cultivators

In case of cultivation crops, rice, pulse, fruits, watermelon, papaya, muskmelon,

banana, cucumber, potatoes are the main source of income in those areas. Other

sources are – fish farming, small pond, canal, from river, domestic birds, domestic

animal. On the other hand they have also made their income from – service,

business, labor in other field and so forth.

Their primary expenditures are mostly occurring for fulfilling the primary needs.

The expenditure of cultivators is - housing, clothing, food, education,

entertainment, medical, and others. The level of income and expenditure of water

melon cultivators are shown in the following table -

Level of income

Others

ShopkeeperSmall

business

Rickshaw Pooler

Labor

Occupation

9

The level of income of the watermelon is representing in the following figure-

Source Description Income

Agriculture

Crops Rice, pulse 25000 per acre

Fruits Watermelon, papaya, muskmelon, banana, cucumber, potato etc

105000

Fish farming

Small pond, canal, from river etc

20000

Domestic birds

About 4-7 in every family

7500

Domestic animal

2-4 cows, 1-3 goats in every family

25000

Service Labor in other field 1500- 2500 per month

Others Cottage 22500

Expenditure

Items Amount

Housing 10000-15000

Food 35000-65000

Clothing 5000-7500

Medical 3000-5000

Education 6000-7000

Entertainment ------------------

Others 12000-20000

Uses of technology

10

Most of the cultivators of this area cultivate their land in the classical way. Only

one third of cultivators are prepared their field for cultivation in proper way.

Though most of the cultivators use pesticides in their land but maximum of

them have fails to maintain the proper rules of pesticiding. In this modern time

they are now start to adopt the new and technological process in their

production system.

Items User percentage of surveyed person

Modern firm machinery

Land preparation 51.53%

Irrigation 66.23%

Weeding -----

Seed sawing -----

Pesticide 93.75%

Electricity 72.62%

Radio 18.00%

Television 50.00%

Cell phone 15.00%

Member of different society

The farmer of those areas involved with different society such as- mosque

committee, NGO, school committee, clubs, and others. According to our survey

we observe that a good number of farmers are general member of Mosque.

Society General member Life time member/ executive

Mosque committee 36% 25%

11

NGO 12% ----

School committee 8% ----

Club 4% ----

Others 8% ----

Utilization Pattern of land

The utilization pattern of land includes- homestead land, garden, pond, cultivation

of land etc. Most of the time framers are not able to utilize their land properly

because of their shortage of knowledge.

Total amount and utilization pattern of land

Ownership pattern

12

Types of land Amount(Per acre)

Own Joint Mortgage Others

Homestead 20-25% 56% 24% 12% 8%

Garden 10-12% 80% 12% 5% 3%

Pond 5-6% 90% --------- 5% 5%

Cultivation 50-65% 50% 16% 29% 5%

Others 2-4% 95% --------- --------- 5%

Information regarding problems faced by the farmers form livelihood

Problem faced by the farmers Suggestions13

1. Private or public organizations don’t take any kind of steps to improve their daily livelihood.

They should maintain proper communication with private or public organizations.

2. The political leaders in the rural area don’t take proper steps to improve their livelihood.

They should aware when they select political leader.

3. They get poor medical facilities. Government should aware about it.

4. With the lake of communication with city culture their culture did not grow up.

They should take the right culture which is in favors of them.

5 They get poor entertainment facilities to refresh themselves.

They can use radio, television for entertainment.

6. The education system in Bangladeshi rural area is very poor so the watermelon cultivators and their children are not well educated.

They should take at list primary education as well as the illiterate farmer also can go in mass education school.

7. They cannot get proper information from any kind of media like newspaper, television etc.

They should aware about collecting information

Production of Watermelon 14

Process of cultivation

Watermelon is a warm-season crop related to cantaloupe, squash, cucumber and pumpkin. Watermelons can be grown on any well-drained soil throughout Bangladesh but are particularly well adapted to the Coastal Plain soils of South Bengal. Yields of 20,000 to 40,000 pounds per acre are common. More than 15,000 acres of watermelon are produced in Bangladesh.Watermelons will continue to be an important part of vegetable production in Bangladesh. Increases in average yield per acre will continue as more growers adopt intensive management and new hybrid varieties.

Cultivars

Watermelons range in shape from round to oblong. Rind colors can be light to dark green with or without stripes. Flesh colors can be dark red, red or yellow.Watermelon varieties fall into three broad classes based on how the seed was developed: open-pollinated, F1 hybrid and triploid (seedless). Open-pollinated varieties are developed through several generations of selection. The selection can be based upon yield, quality characteristics and disease resistance. Open-pollinated varieties have true-to-type seed (seed saved from one generation to the next will maintain the same characteristics) and are less expensive then F1 hybrid varieties.

Planting and Spacing

Watermelon seed germinates at soil temperatures of 68° to 95°F; however, germination below 70° is very slow. At a soil temperature of 77°, watermelon plants should emerge in about five days.Watermelon seed should not be planted until soil temperatures are warm enough to ensure rapid germination. Planting seed too early will delay germination, can result in uneven stands and will increase the likelihood of crop loss. Early seeding can, however, result in an early harvest, which generally commands better prices. These contradictory elements in deciding when to plant watermelon seed are best resolved by successive plantings that attempt to produce for the early market while ensuring a crop by planting when soils are warmer.Seed should be planted approximately 1 inch deep. The amount of seed required (usually 1 to 2 pounds per acre) depends upon seed size, germination and plant spacing. Correctly labeled, uniform, disease free certified seed with 85 percent to 90 percent germination is preferred.

Soils and Fertilizer Management

15

Most well drained soil, whether clayey or sandy, can be managed to produce a good crop of watermelon. The best soils, however, are sandy loams that have not been in cucurbit production for a minimum of five years.Soils with a history of watermelon diseases should be avoided or fumigated to avoid problems.Land preparation involves one or more tillage operations performed (1) To make the soil more suitable for seeding and seedling (or transplant) establishment,

(2) To enhance productivity by providing the best soil structure for subsequent root growth and development, and

(3) To help control some disease problems.

Several operations may be required to prepare land for planting. This is partially determined by previous cropping history. Land that has been under cultivation for several years may develop a hardpan several inches below the surface. This is particularly problematic on clay soils. To penetrate and break up this hardpan, subsoil should be used.

Sowing

Sow one to two seeds per container for open-pollinated varieties and one seed per container for hybrids to reduce seed costs. Pinch off or cut seedlings to avoid disturbing the roots. Do not pull seedlings out of the container to thin.

Growing Conditions

High temperatures and low light will produce spindly plants. Conversely, low temperatures will delay plant development. Low temperatures can be used when trying to slow plant growth as field planting approaches.

Watering

Uniformly moist media will ensure good germination, but overly wet media will encourage damping off and high seedling mortality. Established transplants should be watered only when necessary. Excessive watering leads to succulent plants with restricted root growth. Water should be applied only when the surface of the media is dry to the touch. As plants grow larger, their water needs will increase. They may need water daily when approaching transplant size. The media should be moistened thoroughly until water drips through the containers drain holes. Water in the morning allows the foliage to dry before night. Wet foliage encourages disease.

Diseases

16

Diseases are important in determining the success or failure of watermelon production in Georgia. Certain diseases have destroyed entire watermelon crops in some areas when weather conditions favored their development. If disease control practices are not followed, some loss can be expected every year from foliage and stem diseases. Disease-causing fungi can live from year to year on undeceived vines of watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, citrons, gourds and pumpkins. These fungi produce millions of spores on susceptible plants. The spores are sticky when wet; any time humans, animals or machines move through wet vines, these diseases can be spread. Splashing rain or runoff water can also spread these fungi from one area to another. The most common diseases of watermelon in Bangladesh are Damping-off, Root-knot Nematodes, Gummy Stem Blight, Anthracnose, Fusarium Wilt, Downy Mildew, Watermelon Mosaic Virus, Rind Necrosis and Fruit Blotch.

Insect Management

Watermelons are subject to attack by a variety of insect pests. These attacks do not always result in economic injury, so certain insect management practices can be used to ensure cost-effective control decisions. Indiscriminate use of insecticides often creates more favorable conditions for the development of harder-to-control insect pests, thus increasing the cost of production.Insects cause injury to the leaves, stems, roots and melons. The developmental stage of the plant at the time of attack often governs the plant part injured by different insect pests. However, some insects feed specifically on one plant structure; others may feed on several structures.

Harvesting

Watermelons are considered optimum for eating when their flesh matures to produce a sweet flavor, crisp texture and deep red color. Some newer cultivars, however, range in color from light red to yellow. Determining maturity of melons without tasting each is not easy. External rind appearance does not always predict good internal flesh quality and full maturity.

Because of consumer demand for sweet, flavorful watermelons, total sugar content is an important quality factor. High quality watermelons should have a sugar content of 10 percent or more in the flesh near the center of the melon.

17

Time between harvest and consumption is a critical factor in determining when to harvest watermelons. Melons bound for distant markets are harvested when mature, but before full ripeness, to minimize handling damage and breakdown in texture that they can suffer in transit. Watermelons should be consumed within two to three weeks after harvest, primarily because of loss of crispness.

Selecting mature melons, ripe for harvest, is most difficult early in the season. Immature melons are characterized as being very firm, not yielding to pressure and having flesh colors of white to pink. If harvested immature, red color will develop, but the flesh will never develop acceptable sweetness because sugar content does not increase after harvest.

Handling

Rough handling due to carelessness and haste during harvest will cause damage and quality loss. Loaders on the ground should hand pass melons to stackers who carefully place them in the load. Pitching melons often results in their being dropped or rolled onto the load. Never stack melons on their ends because the thin blossom end is the most susceptible area for bruising. A drop of only 8 inches can result in severe internal bruising; a 1-foot drop can crack the flesh internally or split the melon open.

Direct sunlight can affect watermelon quality after harvest. Sunburn develops quickly on exposed melons whether on the ground or loaded in a truck. Temperatures above 90° F cause internal flesh breakdown and increase decay. These effects may require several days to become apparent. Shading is a necessary protection against direct sunlight and heat while waiting for bulk shipment or unloading at a packing facility.

Storage

Temperature management is important for optimum watermelon quality. The optimum storage temperature for melons is 60°F. Transit temperatures of 55° to 70°F with ventilation are recommended. Whole watermelons should not be refrigerated.

At temperatures below 50°F, chilling injury can develop, causing decreased redness and juice leakage of the internal flesh, and surface pitting and Alternaria decay to the melon rind. Chilling will also cause discoloration in the internal flesh after the melon is warmed to room temperature if it was bruised before cold storage.

18

Cost of production

Production budgets may be used to estimate watermelon production costs and break-even prices. The cost estimates included in the budgets should be for inputs deemed necessary to achieve the specified yields over a period of years.

Production practices, operation size, yields and prices vary among farms, regions and times of the year. For these reasons, each grower should adapt budget estimates to reflect his or her particular situation. Total costs of producing any crop include both variable and fixed costs. The variable, or operating, costs change with the amount of crop produced. Common variable costs include seed, fertilizer, chemicals, fuel and labor. Fixed costs include items such as equipment ownership, management and general overhead costs. Most of these costs are incurred even if little or no production takes place and are often overlooked for planning purposes.

Variable costs are further broken down into pre harvest and harvest operations in the budget. This provides the grower an opportunity to analyze the costs at different stages of the production process.

Land cost may be either a variable or a fixed cost. Even if the land is owned, a cost is involved. Land is included as a variable cost in this budget. If land is double cropped, each enterprise should be charged half the annual rate. Ownership costs for a tractor and equipment (depreciation, interest, taxes, insurance and shelter) are included as a fixed cost per hour of use. Overhead and management are calculated by taking 15 percent of all pre harvest variable expenses. This figure compensates for management and farm costs that cannot be allocated to one specific enterprise. Overhead items include utilities, pick-up trucks, farm shop and equipment, and fees.

Watermelon Prices, Costs and Revenue Estimates

Some cost are associated with the production of water melon such as - Seed or plants, fertilizer, insecticide, labor, land rent, irrigation (pump), interest on operating capital, and others. They always try to make their over the total cost. Here water melon price cost and estimated revenues are given bellow:

19

Watermelons’ estimated production Costs (Per acre)

Fixed Cost Variable CostItems Amount Items Amount

Land cost (300000 12%)/2 18000 Land preparation: i) Laughing, laddering, and leveling of landsii) Making pits

2000

500Family labor 10000

Machinery and tools 9000Application of manures and fertilizers

1000

Interest on operating capital 4056 Seed sowing 300

Others 1690 Irrigations and drainage 1000

-------- ----- Weeding 1000

-------- ----- Pesticiding 1000

-------- ----- Protection 6000

-------- ----- Harvesting 2000

-------- ----- Carrying 1000

Total 33746 Total 16800

Material / capital cost

Items CostSeed 800

Manners and fertilizers i) crowdingii) ureaiii)TSPIV) MPv) Others

20002500400025002000

Pesticide 2000

Fuel / pump 1500Others 1000Total 17000

20

Returns

Price Per Unit* Cost per Unit** Return Per Unit % of Return (Return Per Unit/ Cost per Unit

11 5.20 5.80 111%

* Estimated revenue per acre is (13000 Piece per acre 11 TK per unit)

= TK. 143000

** Estimated cost per acre is TK. 67546

21

Information regarding problems faced by the farmers in production sector

Problem faced by the farmers Suggestions

1. Water: Watermelon is produced in summer

season. As a result, the cultivators are facing problem of water

They can use dip tub-wall, pump, dheki call, small cannel (drain), etc for take water.

2. Labor unavailability: During the cultivation the labor are

unavailable.

If they use modern technology then the demand of labor will be reduce.

3. Electricity For the lack of electricity, the farmers

cannot put security system around the field.

If they use patrol pump or solar system, then the pressure of electricity will be reduce.

4. Storing: There is no storing system (store house)

in Patuakhali district for highly yields crop

They should try to sell their product as early as possible.

5. Transport: Lack of transport facilities, the

cultivators cannot get fertilizer, insecticide properly

For this purpose, they can talk with Union Parishad Chairman for get fertilizer and insecticide timely.

6. Education: The farmers do not have a proper

knowledge of cultivation of watermelon.

The farmers get proper knowledge of cultivation of watermelon from the Agriculture officer of Upazila or NGO.

7. Organization: The watermelon cultivators get poor

information about the cultivation from any type of organization (public or private).

For getting proper information they need to maintain relation ship with Union Parishad as well as Agriculture officer of Upazila or NGO.

8. Credit: The cultivators take high interest lone

from the wholesaler and get compelled to sale their product to the wholesaler in a low price.

They can make or involve with the co-operative society such as BRACK, Gramin Bank, ASA etc. for solving this problem.

9. Natural disaster: The natural disaster is a problem to

them, which has no cure.

In this aspect they try to gather information about weather from radio, television, newspaper etc.

22

Marketing of Watermelon

Distribution Channel of Watermelon

There is no certain distribution system of watermelon. Here we try to draw a distribution system of watermelon, which is often common for high yielded fruits. Generally the farmers are producing the watermelon in their land and through the first step of marketing start. Then they sell the water melon to the nearest dealer or the agent and the local business man. Some time the consumers get the product directly from the local business man. On the other hand sometime the product comes to the local agent from the dealer or agent, then to the wholesaler or retailer then consumer.

Fig: Distribution channels of Watermelon

From this figure it is easily assume that there are no fixed and specified distribution channels of watermelon.

Producer/Farmer

Local businessmanDealer/Agent

Local commission agent Whole seller

Retailer

Consumer

23

Marketing System of Watermelon

Most of the watermelon produced in Patuakhali district sells to Khulna. The rest are sells in local markets in Barisal division. We can draw the information by a figure below –

Place of sale Type of buyer Amount/percentage

Price per unit

Mode of payments

Khulna Division Dealer About 56% 35-30 Cash/credit

Barisal division Wholesaler/Retailer About 30% 25-30 Cash/credit

Others Wholesaler/Retailer About 14% 20-25 Cash

Fig: Information regarding Marketing system

Group marketing

In Recent year’s group marketing is emerging in the rural area of Bangladesh but it has no organizational structure. Group marketing is a system by which the product goes to consumer from producer directly. The group marketing is like co-operative marketing. But it has no rules and regulation like cooperative marketing. Here the producer of the farmer arranged them selves to transfer the products to the market. By this they reduced their expenses incurred in production of watermelon and get higher profit. It has some negative sides such as Conflict between themselves, influence of intermediaries. But it could get better result if the negative sides can be reduced. The most important matter in this group system is information about the market that is the profitable market is available for them. This can be executing like this way:

Producers/farmers local marketProducers/farmers city marketProducers/farmers business organizationProducers/farmers supermarket or departmental storeProducers/farmers establishing own selling center in city market.

24

Information regarding problems faced by the farmers in marketing sector

Problem faced by the farmers Suggestions

1. Distribution: There is no fixed distribution system

of watermelon.

They can make co-operative society to maintain marketing distribution channel properly.

2. Price: The price of the watermelon is reduced

after collecting from field.

To avoid this situation they can sale their whole field of water melon at a time to the dealer or wholesaler.

3. Fluctuations: The price is fluctuated in respect of

season

They can sale their product, where they get better price.

4. Intermediaries: The intermediaries took large portion

of profit.

Direct sale to the consumer or retailers can avoid this situation.

5. Market facilities: Market facilities are insufficient

For get fulfill market facility they can make co-operative society among their area.

6. Measurement scale: Measurement scales for watermelon

are imperfect

In this purpose they can take help from the Union Parishad as well as Agriculture officer of Upazila or NGO.

7. Transport: The farmers couldn’t transfer their

product to the market properly because of lack of transport facilities.

They can use group marketing process to solve this problem.

8. Storing: As they have no storehouse they

couldn’t Store their product for getting better price on the next time.

In this purpose they can take help from the Union Parishad as well as Agriculture officer of Upazila or NGO.

9. Information: Information of market is not available

to them.

In this aspect they try to gather information from radio, television, newspaper, Union Parishad as well as Agriculture officer of Upazila or NGO etc.

25

Recommendations

According to our survey we found the following recommendations to the cultivators-

1. Though they have enough land for planting trees, if they have to give proper guide line for planting water melon then they will able to increase their production from their previous situation.

2. Government contribution should increase for providing incentive to the farmer.

3. Give the farmer training in aspect to the proper cultivation of water melon.

4. Use the electronic and news media to aware the farmers in terms of planting water melon.

There are some other recommendations which are also important to the cultivators. Which are given below – MIS (Marketing Information Services)

Accuracy, availability, applicability and analysis are the 4A’s of market information. MIS can provide information to the farmers to understand to which product, quality, etc. the prices refer. Further, even if prices are completely accurate, they are of much use if they are only available to farmers too late for them to use effectively. Both now and in the future the possibilities offered by new technology open up. Farmers need to be able to apply the accurate information made available to them. This requires knowledge of how to convert prices they receive from the MIS into a realistic price at their local market or farm gate. Finally, farmers need long-term data, which has been analyzed in such a way that they can make decisions about when to plant and harvest and what new crops to diversify into.

Policy recommendation

A national policy needs to be formulated for improvement and development of watermelon production. At present there is no price policy for watermelon. Domestic market is divided and in the absence of any foreign market we need a price policy to ensure the financial losses. And to ensure the quality of the watermelon and the price to the growers the marketing policy is needed. Due to the higher cost of materials and labor, credit should be extended towards watermelon cultivation is also needed.

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Research recommendation Research base of watermelon is poor. It is necessary to give total effort to establish one comprehensive research program for watermelon incorporating multidisciplinary team of researchers. Studies on production and marketing economics of watermelon should go hand in hand.

Cost recommendation

Costs for field making materials are very high. Alternatives materials for making field, which are cost effective and durable, should be researched out. This will help to reduce production cost to a greater extent. Also alternative design of field for storm protection can be worked out.

Socio- economic recommendation

Being a perishable cash crop, watermelon cultivation is very risky its market and price need to be ensuring to save guard growers interest.

Substantial cash recommendation

Watermelon cultivation requires substantial cash, which the farmers don’t get from any institutional source of credit. As the crops are harvest for a short time, recovery can be made monthly.

Export policy recommendation

A potential export market exists in many countries. Proper tapping of export market by way of export promotion measures and improvement in the shape, size and quality of the crop will increase the production as well as earn foreign exchange.

Improvement recommendation

A comprehensive interdisciplinary improvement program should be started immediately with the involvement of different scientific studies. And different experiment with technological attachment should be conducted.

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Conclusion

Day by day per head profit on fruits in Bangladesh is in decreasing. To increase the plantation of fruit it is necessary to be attentive to its cultivations. In this aspect the importance of water melon is high in our country, because our country’s climate is suitable for cultivating the water melon. Water melon cultivated mainly in Barisal division as well as Khulna division in Bangladesh. Kuakata, Khepupara, Misripara, Alipur, Mohipur, etc. are main production area of water melon in Patuakhali district. The direction of the Watermelon cultivation should be changed as a cash crop and export oriented crop. It is not only possible for the watermelon cultivators shattered with thousand of problems to change the directions. It is necessary primarily to come into stabilize the shattered watermelon cultivation. Then the watermelon cultivation is to develop by thousand of activities. If our farmers will get proper support from Government and other organizations, then they will be succeeding in their production system.

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Bibliography

1. Purseglove J. W. “Tropical Crops Dicotyledons,” Volume – I and II combined, 2nd edition 1969, P. 102-107.

2. Internet.

APPENDIX29

An Interview Schedule onProduction and Marketing System of Watermelon in Some Selected Areas of

Patuakhali District

Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural SociologyFaculty of Business Administration and Management

Patuakhali Science and Technology University

Information regarding level of livelihood of the farmer

1. Age:

2. Level of education

Primary secondary higher secondary higher secondary +3. Family status

TypeTotal Number

Earning memberDependent No.

of MemberMale Female Total

4. Occupation

Past Present FutureMain subsidiary Main subsidiary Main subsidiary

5. Level of income (monthly/ annually)

Source of income Description Amount of income

Sample no : …………………….………….………..

Identification of the respondent: ……………………………….………...Name : …………....…………………………...Village : ……………………………...…………Union : ………………………………………...Upazila : ………………………………………... District : ………………………………………...

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Agriculturei. Crops

ii. Fruitsiii. Fish farmingiv. Domestic birdv. Domestic animalsServiceBusinessothers

total

6. Expenditure patterns (monthly/ annually)

Items

a) Housingb) Foodingc) Clothingd) Medicinee) Educationf) Entertainmentg) Others

Total

7. Family information

Relationship with respondent Age Education Occupation

8. Use of media and technology

Items Yes No31

1. Modern farm machineries

a) Land preparationb) Irrigationc) Weedingd) Seed sawinge) Pesticidingf) Harvesting

2. Electricity3. Radio4. Television5. Cell phone

9. Member of different society

Society General Member Executive MemberMosqueCommitteeNGOSchool committeeClubOthers

10. Information regarding utilization patterns of lands

Total amount and utilization of land

Types of land Amount Ownership Utilization pattern

HomesteadGardenPond Land for cultivationsOthers

Total

11. Information regarding cost and return

32

Fixed cost

Items AmountLand costFamily laborMachinery and toolsInterest on operating capitalOthersTotal

Variable cost

Items AmountLand preparation: i) Ploughing, laddering, and leveling of landsii) Making pits

Application of manures and fertilizers Seed sowing Irrigations and drainageWeedingPesticidingProtectionHarvestingCarryingTotal

12. Returns

Price Per Unit Cost per Unit Return Per Unit% of Return (Return Per Unit/ Cost per Unit

13. Information Regarding Marketing SystemBuying and Selling Information

33

Place of sale

Type of buyer

Amount Price per unit

Pricing rules

Method of payment

14. Information regarding problems faced by the farmers

Problem faced by the farmers Suggestions1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.