Understanding farmers’ preferences and constraints in vegetable seed marketing in Durg district of Chhattisgarh

The present study was carried out to identifying and analyzing farmers’ preference in vegetable seed purchase, and eliciting the constraints faced by farmers and dealers and suggesting measures for improvement of the same in Durg district of Chhattisgarh during the period 2024-25. The study was conducted across 15 randomly selected villages from three blocks—Durg, Dhamdha, and Patan—with a total sample of 105 vegetable growers. The study further illustrated that most growers were middle-aged (59.04% aged 30–50 years), literacy rate (91.42%), and relied solely on farming (89.52%), with medium landholdings (38.10%). Farmers overwhelmingly preferred hybrid seeds (88.57%) over open-pollinated seeds (11.43%). VNR was identified as the most preferred brand, chosen by 21.19% of respondents, followed by other brands. Farmers prioritized seed quality, higher yield and past experience when selecting seeds. Key challenges identified among farmers included fear of crop failure (mean score 72.44), followed by others. Dealers struggled with intense competition (mean score 72.13) and delayed payments from farmers (mean score 65.13) followed by others. The study recommended promoting climate-resilient seed varieties, strengthening extension services, improving credit and insurance access, and enhancing dealer support.