Marketing strategies for Machete in karnal territory of Haryana

Report

Institute of Agri Business Management S K Rajasthan Agricultural University

Bikaner, Rajasthan

SUBMITTED TOSUBMITTED BY

Dr. Rajesh Sharma Mr.Rakesh meel

Associate Professor MBA (AB) 1st Year

IABM, Bikaner IABM, Bikaner

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The present investigation is a synthesized effort of various sources. Words can hardly express my feeling of indebtness to all those who extended cooperation in completing this report work successfully. The satisfaction that accompanies the successful completion of any task would be incomplete without the mention of all those people who made it possible whose constant guidance and encouragement crowns the efforts with success

First of all, I would like to thank the Almighty God and my parents whose blessings and inexpressible support are my most valuable assets. I would like to thank my parents with whose gracious blessings and affection I was able to accomplish my work successfully.

I am heartily thankful to my mentor Mr. Dnyaneshwar shankarrao Ingle Working with him enhanced my analytical skills which will help me in the field of Management

I express my thoroughly thanks to Dr. Rajesh Sharma who gave me opportunity to make this report. I would like to thank my all friends and seniors in IABM.

Finally, I extend my thanks to all the people who came in contact and co-operated me during my report work.

Rakesh meel

IABM, Bikaner

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CONTENT

S. No. Title Page No.

Executive Summary 5-6

1. Introduction 7-23

2. Project Methodology 24-25

3. Analysis of Data 26-27

4. Findings and Analysis 27-35

6 Recommendations/suggestions 37

7. References 38

8. Appendices 39-40

Executive Summary

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An herbicide is a substance used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill

specific targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act

by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic "imitations" of plant

hormones. Herbicides used to clear waste ground, industrial sites, railways and railway

embankments are non-selective and kill all plant material with which they come into

contact. Smaller quantities are used in forestry, pasture systems, and management of

areas set aside as wildlife habitat.

Sinochem India Company Pvt. Ltd. is a year old organization in India and actively

involved in expansion of its agrochemicals business in the rural market. Hence, the

company is interested in preparing appropriate marketing strategies to increase the

adoption of its Butachlor based selective herbicide product ‘Machete’ all over India.

Machete can be applied in Paddy. The Report entitled Marketing strategies for Machete

in Haryana” is aimed at making marketing strategies to increase the awareness about

product among farmers of selected districts of Haryana with a broader objective of

increasing its adaptability in other potential areas of the state .Keeping this in the view it

seems necessary to study the impact of marketing strategies for Machete in selected

districts of Haryana which is one of the major areas of focus for the Sinochem India

Company Pvt. Ltd.

Today, a successful product or service means nothing unless the benefit of such a service can be communicated clearly to the target market. Promotion serves as a process and activity to convey the uniqueness of a product to its customers. More precisely, the ultimate objective of the project is to identify those marketing strategies which can effectively convert the farmers to local herbicide into that of company herbicide. When I consult seniors for effective marketing strategies. The study reveals that farmer meeting is the prerequisite tool that can motivate the farmers to use good company herbicide in their crops. The villages where Don‘t aware about the company herbicide should be targeted by a combination of promotional tools like demonstrations, jeep campaigning, and farmer meeting, at large. Advertisements through local Radio station along with distribution of free audio cassettes/compact disks has also been found as an effective way to promote the use of company herbicide(Machete). As not a single company has used Weekly Hatts so far, therefore, it can emerge as a unique way to promote the company herbicides in the area. These hatts can be utilized by way of promoting the company products (Herbicides) using traditional promotional tools like Nukkar Nataks, Puppet shows and also by organizing informative

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quiz events. It was also observed that farmers in the area under study expect gifts with the purchase of agricultural input . Hence, there is an urgent need to work at the grassroots level in order to promote the company products among the local user‘s herbicides.

INTRODUCTION

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Agriculture dominates India's economy, with nearly 60 per cent of the population working in this sector. Foodgrain production is around 176Mt/a and it is estimated that by the year 2010, India's requirements will have increased to 300Mt. In the modern world, the interdependence of agriculture and industry is well known. The Green Revolution, which enabled India to be self-sufficient in its food needs, was made possible only by the inputs to agriculture provided. Ensuring food security for more than 1 bn Indian population with diminishing cultivable land resource is a herculean task. This necessitates use of high yielding variety of seeds, balance use of fertilizers, judicious use of quality pesticides along with education to farmers and the use of modern farming techniques.

Emerging Marketing Scenario The pesticides industry has grown rapidly during the last two decades. It has also undergone a structural change from producing low value products to one producing high value specialty products. Despite this,the use of pesticides is concentrated in selected districts of a few states. The bulk of pesticides are consumed by crops like paddy and cotton. Crops which account for less than one per cent of the use are sugarcane, barley, rape and mustard, tobacco, and gram. Plantation crops like rubber, tapioca, coconut, and spices more or less have remained outside the ambit of pesticide use. The pesticides use pattern is very similar to that of fertilizers which also display geographical and crop concentrations. This is understandable because marketers usually tap first those markets with more potential and easier access. This pattern, however, has to undergo a change during the next decade of agricultural development. During the Eighth Plan, emphasis will be on acceleration of agricultural growth in rainfed areas, eastern regions, and crops like oilseeds and pulses. This process has already begun with the identification of 66 districts for intensive development. Efforts have also been made to delineate 15 agro-climatic regions for promotion of optimal cropping mix. This scenario opens up new opportunities and challenges for the pesticides industry. To promote sales of pesticides, the industry will have to generate guidelines for economical use of pesticides for crops grown in disadvantaged regions. This has to be supplemented with development of crop specific products and pricing and promotion of these products in relation to crop profit abilities. Market development efforts are time consuming and costly. As the industry is presently dependent on distributors and dealers to push their products, the challenge may not be automatically taken up because the turnover per outlet in disadvantaged regions is going to be much smaller than what is obtained now. Similarly, the marketing cost is also going to be high. Perhaps the pesticides industry is in need of governmental support for market development. The above analysis indicates the magnitude of problems faced by various constituents of the industry. These have to be resolved by various constituents of the industry itself so that the challenge can be met by the industry.

Strengths and Opportunities:

India has a huge pool of low cost managerial and technical professionals

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With the increasing emphasis on farm credit and irrigation facilities, the demand for the agro chemical industry is expected to go up.

To keep pace with the growing population, the prime concern at present is to increase productivity only from the available land to educate farmers about new technologies for increasing yield and to have better quality harvest as per international standards.

Increasing focus on yield is expected to drive the demand for agro chemicals.

Various agro chemicals are getting off patented in the coming 5 years, and this will provide huge opportunities for those having the required process technology and the manufacturing facilities.

Any further reduction of other levies like excise duty, VAT, LADT etc. is expected to grow the pesticides Industry.

Low food stocks globally for the key agricultural commodities and competing demand from some crops like Maize for bio fuel production are driving the need for improving the crop productivity. Strong produce prices are also improving the affordability of growers for using the good quality of agri-inputs.

Pesticide consumption in India is very low compared to the developed and developing countries. India produces 16% of the world's food grains but utilizes less than 2% of pesticides leaving substantial room for growth.

2 .COMPANY PROFILE

With customers from more than 100 countries and regions worldwide, SINOCHEM International Corporation ("SINOCHEM Intl") is a large Shanghai listed company

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engaged in logistics, industrial investment, trading and other operations in chemical logistics, rubber, chemicals, petrochemical, metallurgy and energy, etc. In 2006, the total sales revenue of the major operations of SINOCHEM International reached RMB 15.4 billion and its total assets over RMB 7.9 billion.

BRANDVALUE:- SINOCHEM‖（SINOCHEM ) brand is a well-known trademark in China and enjoys a good reputation globally in the industry. In 2004, SINOCHEM, valued at RMB57.689 billion ,ranked fifth among ―Top 500 Most Valued Brands jointly selected by the World Brand Laboratory and the World Economy Forum. In 2006, SINOCHEM‖ was listed among the Top 20 Most Internationalized Chinese Brands in the Eyes of Chinese People All over the World. In 2006, ―SINOCHEM‖, valued at RMB57.793 billion, ranked sixth among the ―2006 Top 500 Most Valued Chinese Brands by the World Brand Laboratory.

SINOCHEM IN INDIA Monsanto India Ltd. to sell Butachlor & Alachlor businesses to Sinochem International (Overseas) PVT. Ltd. Monsanto India Ltd. (MIL) announces its decision to sell and transfer its Butachlor and Alachlor businesses that includes the transfer of the flagship brands Machete, Fastmix and Lasso, to Sinochem International (Overseas) Pvt. Ltd., a Singapore-registered subsidiary of Sinochem International, for and on behalf of the entity under incorporation in India, at a total consideration of USD 8.40 million (approx. Rs. 33 crores).

COMPANY’S MISSION

Company’s mission is to provide quality of chemical material suitable for the Indian

subcontinent, to booster the green revolution to the other parts of India

Sinochem Company aimed at providing high quality herbicides to the farmer community

at reasonable prices. Sinochem company aim has also been to convince the farmers

about the beneficial use of good quality herbicide to local brands and thus enhance

Production Company with global influence.

SINOCHEM FUTURE PROSPECTS SINOCHEM International Corporation (―SINOCHEM Intl‖) is a large state-owned listedcompany engaged in logistics, Industrial investment, trading and other operation in

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Chemical Logistics, Rubber, Chemicals, Petro-chemical, Agriculture, Metallurgy, and Energy etc.Agricultural chemical is a core business sector of Sinochem Int'l. After taking over Monsanto Company's butachlor and alachlor businesses in India, Philippines, Thailand,Vietnam, Pakistan and Taiwan (China) on March 1, 2008, the preparation for the constructionof Sinochem India Co. was officially initiated. On Sep 3, 2008, Sinochem India Co. was established in New Delhi, marking a huge step forward achieved by Sinochem overseas agricultural chemical project and laying a sound basis for the company to fully carry out its agricultural chemical strategy outside China. Sinochem International (Overseas) Pvt. Ltd. Acquired the Monsanto's Butachlor and Alachlor businesses that includes the transfer of the flagship brands Machete®, Fast mix® and Lasso®.

PRODUCT OF COMPANY Agricultural chemical is a core business sector of Sinochem Int'l. After taking over Monsanto Company's butachlor and alachlor businesses in India, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and Taiwan (China) on March 1, 2008, the preparation for the construction of Sinochem India Co. was officially initiated. Sinochem also try to introducing new types of agricultural chemicals, seeds and fertilizers from China to India.

Product line:

Trade name Technical name Pack size Nature

Machete Butachlore -50% E.C 1 lt, 5 lt Selective herbicide

Fast-Mix Butachlore -50% EW 1 lt, 5 lt Selective herbicide

Lasso Alachlor-50% EC 1 lt Systemic herbicide

Popular Glyphosate -41%SL 500 ml,1 lt Systemic herbicide

Reload Sulphur -80% WDG 1 Kg Fungicide

Choice Imidacloprid-17.80% SL 1Kg Insecticide

Swift PGR 5 Kg Micro-nutrient

COMPETITORS:

Sinochem Company is competiting from both national & multinational companies like DuPont, Bayer, Tata Rallis, Upl & Dhanuka, Syngenta, Crop Chemicals India Ltd.,

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Crystal, Gharda Chemical Ltd., Shivalik, Chambal fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd., Insecticide (India) Ltd. & Jai Chemicals are the major competitors for the company. These companies with early entry in the business of pesticide have large customer base and were able to capture more market share.

MARKETING CHANNEL OF SINOCHEM COMPANY

Manufacturing

C & F Preferrential distributor

Distributor/ Sole stockist Dealer

Dealer/ Retailer Retailer

Farmer Farmer

CUSTOMER & MARKET FOCUS

The selling & marketing efforts of sinochem target the customer for demand generation and its fullfillment based on well delineated customer groups and market segments.the consumtion pattern of pesticides is enormously dynamic in nature due to its dependence on the 3-living entities i.e crops,pests and farmers.Each of them responds uniquely to change the others.this phenomenon cause constant changes in the chemical consumtion across various geographical location and therefore market for agro-chemicals.Hence market changes are monitored frequently by using-

a) Market upward informationb) Competitive performance assessment on seasonal basisc) Pre & post season market research

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Customer contact program: 4 s

Sampark;

To establish contact with farmer in a target geography for set of product/services. To educate farmer on application & advantage of a set of products. To seek farmer comment,complaint, product &services expectations. A multifunctional team made up of sales & marketing,production and support

service personnels, 5-6 days just compaign 2-3 weeks before the consumtion period.

Sambandh;

To provide reminder to farmers on eve of purchase and consolidate product/services advantages.

To seek buying of retailers for target products. To finalise contact and service option available to farmer and dealers in season. Follow up of multifunctional team or specially trained sales team.

Samridhi;

To provide constant information and assistance to farmers & retailers during consumption period.

Follow up of trained MDO and agri experts during season.

Santusthi;

To analyse effectiveness of product and services recorded for farmer & retailers satisfaction.

4. AREA OF STUDY

Mr. Dnyaneshwar shankarrao Ingle did his project work in Haryana. I tok information from him. Herbicide/pesticide is the primary focus of growth for sinochem worldwide. The company is building its base in herbicide for volumes as well as sales; nevertheless, the performance so far in the adoption of herbicide has been unsatisfactory. At present, promoting the lasso brand in maize, pea, sugarcane among farmers who are not using herbicide is a big challenge for sinochem.However performance of Machete are satisfactory in rice but need more focus to enhance market share. Hence, the company is interested in preparing appropriate marketing strategies for increasing the adoption of its Herbicide in Haryana, especially in potential area like Karnal district. This study is being done for knowing the various lacunas on the part of the promotional tool

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

DATA SOURCE

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Secondary data collection from Mr. Dnyaneshwar shankarrao Ingle project work.

SAMPLE SIZE

200 farmers.

ANALYSIS OF DATA Collected data was analyzed by use of simple statistical tools like percentage and average. Results have been represented using Bar graphs, Columns, and Pie charts. Comparative scaling has been used to identify the preference between different marketing strategies repetitively.

• Presentation of analyzed data was done by tabular and graphical methods.

3. OBJECTIVES

Implementation of the planned promotional activities

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Evaluation of all the individual activities and study the customer response/

feedback on them.

To suggest suitable brand promotional mix for increasing the adaptability of

Machete brand .

Assumptions;

It has been assumed that the information given by the seniors is authentic and genuine.

Limitations;

Some information may be incorrect due busy of farmers & retailers during day time Which information is taken by Mr. Dnyaneshwar shankarrao Ingle

Findings and Analysis of data:-

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For the analysis of data, suitable research techniques and statistical tools were applied. The project was carried out to fulfill the specified objectives of the study.

Objective 1: Implementation of the planned promotional activities

These were the different promotional tools that had been used for the promotion of the

products:-

1. Farmer’s meeting2. Indivdual contacts3. Postering4. POP display5. Special occasion6. Banners7. Tele-communication8. Van campaign

FARMER’S MEETING Selection of pre-identified villages from the priority clusters based on market size

and number of progressive farmers data collected during field days. Delivering pre-decided uniform message during meeting.

Plan Layout:

Selecting target village

Gathering farmer

Dissemination of message

Feedback

POSTERING In this process they selected most prominent places to get the best visibility in

interior villages, tube wells, market places, nearby seed shops etc.POP DISPLAY

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In this all major distributor’s, dealer’s and retailer’s shop is decorated with their banners & posters.

They took special care for product display in shop as double or multi phase display of our products.

BANNERS were also used as promotional tool. They put the banners at the point of purchase and also on three wheelers to cover maximum area. These all tools helped them lot to generate demand for Sinochem product in Karnal district of Haryana

VAN CAMPAIGN Preparation of best possible route-map for each jeep based on location of priority

cluster to cover areas in less time. It helped in representative farmer’s movement, stock delivery and dealer contact. Here small farmer’s meetings were conducted to convince farmers about

products.

Objective-2: Evaluation of all the individual activities and study the customer

response/ feedback on them.

Secondary data from distributors, dealers, retailers and farmers and concerned

organization have collected to compare promotional activities undertaken for Machete.

Perception of respondents related to various aspects was studied such as field

demonstration, extension services, farmers’ meeting, jeep campaigning, gift schemes,

packaging of product etc. by using ranking technique and Likert’s scaling techniques.

Buyer’s Behavior for Purchase of Herbicide

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Price

Availability

Packaging

Quality

Dealer's Recommendation

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5

2.885

3.555

4.38

2.31

1.87

Preference of Promotional Tools as a whole based on weighted average of farmer responses:-

Farmer Meet Individual meet Van Campaign Demonstration Postering &POP Display

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

3.744.035

1.82

3.155

2.25

Effect of Promotional Tools on Sale:-

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As we know that the offerings by the Sinochem India Company Pvt. Ltd. Are not altered during the study period and the packaging and other things was remain same during this period so we can conclude that there was a great impact of Promotional Campaign on the increase of sale.

2006 2007 2008 2009 20100

102030405060708090

100

MacheteFastmix

sale

(‘00

0Ltr

.)

Objective-3: To suggest suitable brand promotional mix for increasing the adaptability

of Fast-Mix/Lasso brand

Suggestions

There should be effective advertisement so that farmer will aware about the product.

Old farmers should be targeted with Farmer Meetings. Young as well as >5 ha land having farmers should met individually. Packing must be user friendly with recommended doze, method of application

and pack size. Designed Pamphlets should carry a clear message. The company is working on the “me too” concept. So the company should come

up with new innovative salts. A team of experts from different department must be visited before and after

consumption period.

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Regular market follow up by trained staffs. Relationship management must be there with local village leaders, agriculture

department and co-operative society like Marfed. Packing must be user friendly with recommended doze, method of application

and pack size. Gift should be rational and emotional. E.g.-Bucket, School bag, Hand sprayer,

umbrella, towel etc. Win trust and feeling of channel partners & farmers by dedication. A good employee relationship should be maintained in order to motivate them to

work more efficiently. Literature being given to the farmers do not contain the full information about how

to use the product, which result in failure of the product, so full details should be given about how to use the product in the literature.

Dealers should also be well acquainted with the product uses and should tell the farmer who buy our product.

Post purchase service like visiting the field, etc will enhance the customer relationship and a satisfied customer will bring 10 customer with him.

A toll free number will add spice to our service so that farmer can contact us for the uses of the products and various queries.

Identify new liquidation point like Dairy unit, Big landlords etc in villages. A booklet of different product with details, of company must be available at

grass root as well as dealers, retailers points. Make availabily of Lasso & Atrazine( 1 lt+ 250 gm ) in a single pack for effective

weed control.

10. CONCLUSION Karnal district is one of the potential markets of the Haryana. Company developed different promotional tools and awareness program for promoting the product which helped company to achieve its target. I started my project with starting of kharif season called pre season phase. My main work in project use different promotional tools and spread awareness about the company product. Promotional tolls like Farmers meetings, Door to Door visit, Telephone calling are effective tools to create demand for the Sinochem products. We worked as a team with 1-3 field assistant with one management trainee. Sales increased approx double to that of last year. We sold approx >150KL Machete,Fast-Mix and Lasso packets combinedly in Karnal district. And To increase further sales

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company has to look into the different suggestions. Project helped me to learn many things about rural marketing, distribution channel, sales process,promotional activities carried by different companies, problems in rural marketing, different schemes given by companies to dealers, distributors, retailers and farmers, buying behavior of the farmers etc.

References:

Ministry of Agriculture, Govt of India

Department of Agriculture, Haryana

www.indiastat.com

Comprehensive District Agriculture Plan

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