Marketing performance and factors influencing farmers’ choice for agricultural output marketing channels: The case of potato (Solanum tuberosum) in India

Marketing performance and factors influencing farmers’ choice for agricultural output marketing channels: The case of potato (Solanum tuberosum) in India | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Marketing performance and factors influencing farmers’ choice for agricultural output marketing channels: The case of potato (Solanum tuberosum) in India Jasmeet Kaur This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7348432/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 16 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Potato Research → Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Efficient agricultural marketing is essential for converting farm output into income for farmers, particularly for perishable crops like potatoes. This study evaluates the performance of four distinct potato marketing channels in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, in line with the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative. We analysed primary data collected from 150 farmers and 20 intermediaries using cost–margin analysis and employed a Multinomial Logit model to estimate the factors influencing farmers' choices of marketing channels. Four major channels were identified in the study area. Channel IV (Producer → Retailer → Consumer) emerged as the most efficient, providing the highest producer share (84.07%) and the lowest marketing costs. Conversely, Channel III (contracted sales to PepsiCo) incurred the highest marketing costs and demonstrated the lowest efficiency, despite having the highest consumer price. Traditional channels (I and II) exhibited moderate performance but were characterised by delayed payments and wider price spreads. Farmers' selection of marketing channels was significantly influenced by factors such as farming experience, marketable surplus, distance to markets, payment timelines, and access to informal information. The study recommends expanding direct marketing models, strengthening rural infrastructure, and ensuring timely payments to enhance marketing efficiency and support income growth for potato farmers in hilly regions. Value chain analysis Market margin Price Spread Multinomial Logistic regression Potato Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 16 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Potato Research → Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 15 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 15 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 13 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7348432","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":501004529,"identity":"03f410af-131d-4f1c-983f-2057c4028968","order_by":0,"name":"Jasmeet Kaur","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYIbcDGzHzwwQcgi42dOC0GBvzsbcmGM0BamImzzMBAsueMmTQPiE1IC3P78acbPlT8MTa4kWMmbfNrmzwfMwPjh485eBzWk2N2c8YZAzODG2nF1rl9tw3bmBmYJWduw+eXHLbbvG0GNgY3kjfezu25zQjUwsbMi09L//Nnt//+A2lJMJC27LltT1jLjASz24wNBmaSPUeMpBl+3E4kQssbs5s9x4yNwYHc23A7uY2ZsRmvXwz705/d+FEjB/Q1MCp//LltO7+9+eCHj/i0NKDY2QYmG7CphAN5VO4fvIpHwSgYBaNghAIAQORVasyEeMMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1732-8259","institution":"Banaras Hindu University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jasmeet","middleName":"","lastName":"Kaur","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-11 16:40:42","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7348432/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7348432/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11540-026-10017-y","type":"published","date":"2026-04-16T15:59:18+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107351013,"identity":"7e313b7a-77e0-4baf-9fcd-ed51a231eeb6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-20 16:07:46","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":729257,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Marketingperformanceandfactorsinfluencingfarmers.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7348432/v1_covered_1ba581e3-9ef1-49c0-a79c-6a527de93b43.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Marketing performance and factors influencing farmers’ choice for agricultural output marketing channels: The case of potato (Solanum tuberosum) in India","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"potato-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"potr","sideBox":"Learn more about [Potato Research](http://link.springer.com/journal/11540)","snPcode":"11540","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/potr/default2.aspx","title":"Potato Research","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Value chain analysis, Market margin, Price Spread, Multinomial Logistic regression, Potato","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7348432/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7348432/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eEfficient agricultural marketing is essential for converting farm output into income for farmers, particularly for perishable crops like potatoes. This study evaluates the performance of four distinct potato marketing channels in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, in line with the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative. We analysed primary data collected from 150 farmers and 20 intermediaries using cost\u0026ndash;margin analysis and employed a Multinomial Logit model to estimate the factors influencing farmers' choices of marketing channels. Four major channels were identified in the study area. Channel IV (Producer \u0026rarr; Retailer \u0026rarr; Consumer) emerged as the most efficient, providing the highest producer share (84.07%) and the lowest marketing costs. Conversely, Channel III (contracted sales to PepsiCo) incurred the highest marketing costs and demonstrated the lowest efficiency, despite having the highest consumer price. Traditional channels (I and II) exhibited moderate performance but were characterised by delayed payments and wider price spreads. Farmers' selection of marketing channels was significantly influenced by factors such as farming experience, marketable surplus, distance to markets, payment timelines, and access to informal information. 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