indian journal of fertilisers, vol. 2 (1), april 2006, pp ...the economy. the most striking feature...

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FERTILISERS APRIL 2006

Indian Journal of Fertilisers, Vol. 2 (1), April 2006, pp. 87-93 (7 pages)

87

I NDIA IS ESSENTIALLY AN AGRARIAN

country and agriculture has been amajor driving force behind the growth ofthe economy. The most striking feature ofthe Indian economy is its capability toprovide employment, livelihood and foodto the teeming millions. Despite of itsindispensable contribution to theeconomy, agriculture sector in India hasbeen a neglected sector where most of thereforms went in favour of the non-agriculture sector.

It has been stated that for the Indianeconomy to grow at the rate of 8%-9%,the agriculture sector would need to growat least at 5% per annum against a currentrate of 1.1% per annum. Implementation ofcertain half hearted measures likerestrictions in domestic movement ofagricultural commodities, progressivereduction in food/fertiliser subsidies andpartial rationalisation of exports/importsof agricultural commodities did not do anygood to the industry, at this stage itwould not be unjustified to state that, ifthe current rate of reforms continues thenno one can protect the agriculture fromfurther reeling down.

The year 2005 was a year of greatdevelopments in the field of agricultureand rural sector. Quite a few importantdevelopments took place, which are sureto make a long lasting impact on Indianagriculture. There has been a boom incotton and sugar industries and animpressive growth in rural retailing. Theseed industry recorded a growth rate ofover 20% while pesticide industry showeda downfall of 20%. But, tractor and

fertiliser industries registered a growth of10% each.

The Union Government also took manymajor initiatives - the launch of RuralInfrastructure Project, Rural EmploymentGuarantee Programme, NationalHorticulture Mission and several otherinitiatives including revision of seed bill,food bill and Mission 2007. The subsidyon micro irrigation increased to 50%,agricultural marketing reforms carried outand commodity trade boosted up. TheDepartment of Information Technologyannounced establishing of one lakhVillage Knowledge Centres in three yearstime.

The contribution of the agri inputindustry has also been substantial in therecent past. Agri input companies in Indiaare currently emphasising on delivery ofpackage of product and services tocustomers and helping in improving thelot of the farming community throughtechnology transfer and value-addedservices.

Nagarjuna Fertilisers and ChemicalsLimited (NFCL) is one company that

mandates the prosperity of farmers. NFCLhas identified the existing gaps in theexisting agri-value chain and have draftedcustomised services for its customers.Over years NFCL has transformed itselffrom a product oriented company in to acomplete solution oriented companyproviding a balanced mix of products andservices to the farmers thus assisting themin increasing their farm productivity andincome. The paper discusses in detail theactivities carried out in the past, theongoing services and the new initiativesto be implemented at farmer level in nearfuture.

COMPANY PROFILE

NAGARJUNA FERTILISERS AND CHEMICALS

Limited (NFCL) is a company thatmandates the prosperity of farmers. Apartfrom marketing wide-range of plantnutrients - Urea, zinc products, watersoluble fertilisers, water managementsystems, plant protection chemicals,agriculture research and IT servicesthrough kiosks, etc., it imparts greatimportance on technology transfer andvalue added services to the farmers –demonstrations, adaptation of villages,education programmes, farmer training andadvisory services, etc.

The efforts of NFCL towards farmershave been continuous and continuouslyimproving since the days when it startedthe seeding programme during 1986-87.

Nagarjuna markets its products acrossIndia through an extensive channelnetwork of more than 10,000 direct dealers

NFCL in the Service of Farmers

N. SAMBASIVA RAONagarjuna Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd.

Nagarjuna HillsHyderabad - 500 082

Nagarjuna Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd. (NFCL) founded in 1985 is a companyin the fertiliser industry that mandates the prosperity of farmers throughsuperior industry interface. Apart from marketing wide-range of plantnutrients – urea, zinc products, water soluble fertilisers, water managementsystems, plant protection chemicals, agriculture research and IT servicesthrough kiosks, etc., it imparts great importance on technology transfer andvalue added services to the farmers, viz., demonstrations, adaptation ofvillages, education programmes, farmer training and advisory services, etc.

The paper deals in detail about various initiatives undertaken by NFCL in ensuring the well-being and prosperity of the farming community.


and warehouses. Professionally qualifiedand experienced sales forces ensuredelivery of products and services. NFCLcontinuously adds products to itsportfolio and provides innovative servicesto the farmers thus helping them inattaining prosperity.

Equal importance is given to fielddevelopment activities; technicallyqualified and experienced field develop-ment officers conduct planned develop-ment activity by the use of modern toolsand gadgets. The strength of Nagarjunasales and development team can begauged by their exposure in marketing fullrange of agri inputs and participation inextensive field development activitiesthroughout the year. Technical Assistantsrecruited from agricultural universities andfield assistants assist the developmentteam in conducting various activities atfarmer level. In addition to the above,development tools like AV vans, jeeps etcare also leveraged.

Unlike other agri-input companies, NFCLstrategically places technically qualifiedand experienced development officers atregional office level to execute thecorporate development strategy. Thedevelopment activities at regional officeare supervised by the regional managersand at finally the zonal managerssupervise the performance of the regionaloffices operating under him. At divisionlevel, all activity, resources andperformance is reviewed and managed bythe Development Manager.

PROGRAMMES UNDERTAKEN

a) Customer Education Programme

Objective : NFCL understands that thereis wide gap between the best practices inagriculture to the actual practices,proliferation of education at all level isnecessary to reduce the existing gap.

Activity: Keeping the above in view, NFCLhas designed customer trainingprogrammes for farmers, agri input sellers,

Products

• Fertilisero Urea (Manufactured and

Imported)o MOP (Traded)o DAP (Traded)

• Agro chemicalso Complete range

• Manufactured• Formulations

• Micro irrigationo Drip and sprinkler systems

• Water soluble fertiliserso Fertigation and foliar grades

• Micronutrientso Zinc 21%, Zinc 33%, Monohydrate,

Zinc 12% EDTA chilatedo Micronutrient formulations

• IT enabled serviceso Rural kiosks

• Research and Development (NARDI)o New product developmento Bio efficacy testo Training centre

• Services

I- Kisan Others

Future

Initiative

Customer Education services

NARDI

Value added Services

Training

programme

• On campus • Off Campus

• Farmer training

• Young farmer

• Women farmer

• Dealer training

Agriculture

Research and

Development

Services

• Bridging

technology gap

• On farm trials

• performance

evaluat ion of

agri inputs

• Training centre

Farmer information

centre

• IT enabled services

to farmers.

• Future e- commerce

plat form

• Market rates and • Market trends

Tools • Resourced persons

• Literature

• Newsletters

• Soil test ing

• Corporate Social

Responsibility

• Field Demonstrat ions

• Crop seminars and meet ings

• Scient ists f ield visit

• Farmer meet ings

• Grower meetings

• Sub dealer and dealer training

• Crop f ilms

• Crop seminars

• Balanced nutrit ion

• Consumer feedback survey

• TV and Radio

• Exhibit ions

• TA and FA

• Jeep campaigns

• Sandy counters

• Hoardings, pamphlets, dealer display boards

• Consumer panel

• New product field

trials

• Balanced nutrition

• Consumer research

and data bank

NFCL IN THE SERVICE OF FARMERS – A SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION

VISION To be Global Leader in Plant Nutrition

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young farmers and also women farmers. Inaddition to the training programme, cropand product literature, wall paintings andhoardings, crop/product films, fielddemonstrations and audio visual vans arealso leveraged to educate farmers. Inaddition to the above; NFCL drawsresourced person and faculties fromleading agricultural universities, industryand the department to impart trainingprogramme to the farmers.

NFCL KVK institute has trained about5000 farmers as on date. The farmers areselected on specific criteria from villagesacross Andhra Pradesh for trainingmostly conducted during off season i.e.May - July. The farmers are givenresidential training in selected crops for 3days by the eminent faculty drawn fromthe local research and agriculturaluniversities. For farmers of Orissa andWest Bengal where NFCL does not havea KVK institute, elaborate trainingprogrammes are conducted throughqualified local resource. The KVK trainedfarmers act as company spokespersonsfor spreading their leanings to co-cultivators. During the year 2004 –05,KVK Raju KVK provided training for over700 farmers through on campus and 79days of off campus farmer trainingprogrammes.

Off-campus Training : This programme isconducted during the season whereresource/scientist visit the farmer fields forcrop inspection and addresses the villagefarmers in meeting on the basis ofobservations/specimens the resource/scientist made during crop inspection.This programme is done in selectedprogressive villages with activeparticipation of NFCL executives.

Farmer meetings/Growers meetings/Product seminars/Crop seminars/Farmer contact programmes etc. are carriedout throughout the year to address thefarmer problems on crop husbandry aspart of farmer training there by createstrong relationship for brand andcorporate.

Dealer/Retailer Training: This forum isaimed at training NFCL dealers andretailers on agri inputs marketing,changing industry scenario, current

policies framework, FCO related issuesetc. NFCL has improved the trainingcurriculum by introducing new topicslike operations and profitabilitymanagement and logistics managementetc for dealers. While the former wouldhelp the dealers in educating the farmersthe later would help them manage theirbusiness and profitability.

Young Farmer and Women FarmerTraining Programme: Young farmerswould be the successors in an agriculturalfamily and women farmers are of lateparticipating actively in agricultural andallied activities and also making criticaldecisions for better cultivation.Considering the importance of agri-knowledge we have designed specialprogramme for young and women farmers.They are trained at KVK Raju KVK onagriculture best practices thus helpingthem in adopting the same in their farm.The same farmers also transmit thelearning to their co-cultivators thusspreading the learning.

NFCL learnt through market researchthat, agri input sellers are the highest pointof contact to resolve crop and farmingrelated issues. Keeping in view the abovefacts, NFCL educates agri input dealersand retailers on best farming practices,fertilisers and agro chemicals, watermanagement products, specialty fertilisersetc, so that information can be dissemi-nated to farmers at the point of purchase.

The training programmes are mostlyconducted in two forms i.e. On-campusand Off-campus.

On-campus Training : On-campustraining programmes are conducted atKVK Raju Krishi Vignana Kendram-NFCLsituated at Kakinada. The objective ofKVK is to transfer technology to farmersand improve their farm productivity byimparting best package of practices/IPM/INM.

Technical session in progress

Problem identification

Women empowerment

During 2005-06, exclusive trainingprogramme was conducted for 40women farmers from various districts inAndhra Pradesh. A young progressiveFarmers training programme wasconducted for two days in KVK RajuKVK for the farmers with an objective totrain them on modern agriculturalpractices and farm mechanisation.Training to these groups would criticallychange the way cultivation is done inrural areas. The women trainingprogramme of NFCL was covered by“India Today – Telugu” where theyinterviewed and took feedback of thesuccess stories of KVK trained womenfarmers.Dealers meet

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b) Balanced Fertilisers

Objective: A major threat that hasemerged to production and productivityat farm level is continuous deteriorationof soil health throughout the country onaccount of imbalanced fertiliser usage.As the member of the task force onpromoting balanced fertilisers, NFCL hasbeen strongly advocating the usage offertiliser blends.

Activity : Both at National level and asan organization, NFCL has takenvarious measures to promote “Soil, cropstage specific” customised fertilisers. Itis also promoting organic farming andmicronutrient use efficiency forimproving the organic carbon contentthus improving the soil health. NFCLis taking lead role in conductingfield trials and recording cropresponses from different trials. Toovercome the existing hurdles NFCL hasalso been representing to thegovernment to take necessary action torelax current regulatory hurdles andfacilitate the manufacturers by providingnecessary subsidy on fertilisers usedas inputs for manufacturing ofcustomised fertilisers. Apart fromnegotiating with the government forthe cause, NFCL is parallely educatingfarmers on the benefit of such fertilisersthrough training programmes, farmercontact programmes and throughliteratures.

Benefits : Market research to measure theperception of farmers on balancedfertilisers has yield highly positiveresults, though balanced fertilisers arelargely an unknown concept for farmersbut upon briefing on the product attributeand its benefits, majority of the farmersinterviewed expressed their willingnessto purchase and apply the balancedfertilisers. Knowing the importance ofsuch fertilisers, NFCL would continue itsendeavour in spreading knowledge andpromoting balanced fertiliser at the farmerlevel. Farmers would be benefited byusage of balanced fertilisers throughimproved yield, prevent wastage, savecost and finally replenishment of soilnutrients.

c) Demonstrations

Objective: “ Seeing is believing” at farmerlevel; with the above fact in view NFCLhas undertaken several initiatives toincrease the fertiliser consumption in theState of Orissa both fertiliser consumptionand yield per hectare is lowest in India.

extreme satisfaction on NFCL initiative.The research data collected from thedemo plot showed that the yield per acrefrom the demo plot has been 15 bags morethan the controlled plots. Similarinitiatives for zinc, water solublefertilisers and other micronutrients areunderway in our marketing area.

d) Nagarjuna Agricultural Research andDevelopment InstituteObjective: Nagarjuna AgriculturalResearch and Development Institute(NARDI) established in 1995 is anagricultural R&D institute. TheDepartment of Scientific and IndustrialResearch (DSIR), Govt of India hasrecognised NARDI as a non-profit,Scientific and Industrial ResearchOrganisation (SIRO). Eminentacademicians, administrators andmanagement professionals governNARDI while scientists from agriculturaland allied fields, guides its research.

Activity: NARDI undertakes field andlaboratory testing of all agri inputs at multilocation testing centre spread all over thecountry. Its services are available forperformance evaluation of hybridvarieties, transgenics and new technology.In addition to the above NARDI providesscientific validation to help agri-inputcompanies to market their products.

I-KisanObjective: I-kisan is an initiative for usinginformation technology for the benefit ofagriculture. It is based on therealisation that substantial gap exist inagriculture between the actual and thepotential in terms of productivity, qualityand the farmer is at a disadvantage ascompared to his counterpart elsewhere inthe world.

Activity: I-kisan enables farmers realizethe best from their farms through

Activity: As a part of the initiative, theNFCL Orissa team conducted field-demoon paddy crop in selected districts withthe help of the farmer and the Agriculturedepartment officials. Starting with soilsample analysis to harvesting, thecomplete process was coordinated andmanaged by NFCL, the fertiliser usage inthe demo plot was as per state fertiliserrecommendation.

Helping farmers in preparing spraysolutions for product demonstration

Benefits: The results of the fielddemonstration and other initiatives ofNFCL were shared with Department ofAgriculture officials and with thefaculties of Orissa University ofAgriculture and Technology-Bhubaneshwar for which they expressed

Director of Agriculture - Orissa visitingFLD plots to take farmer opinion -

A success story

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knowledge based farming practices. Ithelps farmers realize best value in the agri-business processes, through transparencyin deals, wastage reduction in the valuechain and creation of new value in thechain. I-kisan uses Internet media as a toolfor efficient communication and input-output transaction. For this purpose I-kisan has set up Internet enabled boothsacross villages.

Understanding the value of soil testingfor farmers, NFCL has setup elaboratefacility for testing soil samples collectedfrom across its operating states acrossIndia and providing soil report cards tofarmers on time thus helping them plan thecrop schedule.

Activity: Seminars are conducted bydrawing scientists, industry experts andby leveraging in-house resources. Cropand product literatures are distributedand technical films on various crops andmicronutrient films are also screenedduring crop seminars. Experiences areshared and discussion done andsuggestions are recorded and solutionsare provided to the farmers. Throughsuch seminars NFCL has successfullytransferred technology and helped farmersin improving their socio-economic status.

I- KISAN Services

Crop Informat ion

Output Agencies Input Suppliers

Info

Crop diagnost ics

services

Expert services Weather Informat ion

Agri business Informat ion

Farmers are given access to the latestinformation on all cultivation aspects,agronomic practices, agri-inputs (seeds,fertilisers and agro-chemicals),management of pests and diseases, marketrates for the produce, etc.

Benefits: Currently NFCL has openedkiosks in Andhra Pradesh and Orissaand is facilitating farmers in collectinga variety of information on agricultureand allied activities. Hundreds of farmersare being benefited through the kiosks.As future endeavour, NFCL plans to openmore kiosks in various states and benefitfarmers.

The expertise of I-kisan along withthe project management skills of NFCLhas enabled us to bag the TechnologyMission on Cotton project on BOT basis.I-kisan has partnered for rural e-Sevaproject of Government of A.P. and isdisseminating services through 1200kiosks located all over AndhraPradesh. The rural e-Seva is currentlycatering to the information technologyneeds of thousands of farmers andproviding value-added services to farmersfor increasing their yields and farmincome.

e) Soil Testing

Objective: Soil testing is a primary criticaldiagnostic technique towardsmanagement of soils and integratednutrient management for scientific crops.

Activity: NFCL has a capacity ofanalysing 12000 soil samples in a year inits research lab at Kakinada. In the currentyear, NFCL has analysed approximately7500 soil samples and provided the soilreport cards to the farmers. Pre-sowingmeetings with the farmers were conductedand the advisory services were providedto the farmers based on their soil scorecard. In the state of West Bengal andOrissa, where we do not have soil testinglaboratory, we leverage local facility toanalyse the samples and to generatereport card local language.

Benefits: Through soil testing reportsNFCL has enabled farmers to practicebalanced nutrition, proper crop selectionas per soil quality and finally manageproductivity. Due to lack of awareness,farmers have not fully appreciated thevalue and benefit of soil testing. In orderto promote scientific agriculture, NFCL isencouraging farmers to adopt soil testing.

f) Crop Seminars

Objective: Agricultural extensioninvolves a whole gamut of complexinteractions between farmers,extensionists and researchers to empowerfarming community which result inenhancing productivity and profitabilityto the farmer of which crop seminars is apart. NFCL organizes crop seminar atfarmer level on Integrated Nutrient Mana-gement, Integrated Pest Management,promotes biofertilisers etc to enable far-mers realise the maximum from their farm.

Training the farmer on soil sample selection

A happy and prosperous farmer

g) Exhibitions

NFCL has used exhibitions as aneffective tool for displaying its productsfor a large gathering of farmers and giveinformation on the usage and benefits ofthe same. NFCL also has successfullyleveraged exhibitions to promote theusage of micronutrients viz. zinc, boron,molybdenum and sulphur and also watersoluble fertilisers. NFCL leverages suchplatform to exhibit the products andcreate brand impression. These exhibitionsare primarily organised in sandy days,farmer meetings, Agri Expo’s, etc.

h) Technical Films on Crops

Objective: It is a known fact that, paddy,cotton, maize, sugarcane, potato and teaplantations are the principle crops thataccount for nearly 70% of urea andmicronutrient in our primary market. Inorder to bridge the technology gap onthese crops we have developed technicalfilms on crop husbandry which arebeing shown at farmer level through AVVans.

Government of Andhra Pradesh isfocusing on zinc use on various crops bygiving 50% subsidy to the farmingcommunity thus encouraging the farmers

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to use. Complementing the government’sinitiative, NFCL developed a technical filmon zinc which is being screenedextensively. In similar fashion, we havedeveloped films on paddy, cotton, chilies,maize, sugarcane in Telugu and paddy filmin Oriya and film on micronutrients inBengali.Activity: The films cover all aspects ofcrop right from land preparations toharvesting, water management, fertilisermanagement, pests and diseasemanagement etc. For example NFCLsugarcane film released duringJanuary’06 covered all aspects ofsugarcane crop mentioned above and alsoincluded better cultivation aspects that areto be followed in the sugarcane crop toget higher yields. The film has beenextensively screened in sugarcane grownareas in Andhra Pradesh which washighly appreciated by the farmers and themanagement/field staffs of the sugarfactories. The sugarcane film won theSecond Best film award during annualVideo Film Competition conducted by FAIduring December’05. During the year 2004-05, NFCL zinc film had won the sameaward at FAI.Benefits: Special initiative is being takento increase the fertilisers uptake in Orissastate where fertiliser application perhectare as well as the yield is the lowestin India. NFCL Orissa team has developeda paddy crop film of twenty minutesduration to on paddy package of practiceswhich is being extensively screened inabout 700 villages across Orissa; the filmwould be very beneficial for Orissafarmers.i) NFCL NewsletterObjective: NFCL releases a quarterlynewsletter titled Double OX quarterly.

The newsletter aims to keep our keycustomers including farmers inhorticulture growing areas aware of thevarious technological advances in relatedfields such as products, services, policyrelated issues, advanced cultivation prac-tices and the international environment.j) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

The Nagarjuna Group is a sociallyresponsible citizen. The group supportscommunity development programmes

covering a wide range of activities likeenvironment, health, education, incomegeneration and community asset creation.These activities have created awarenessof environment, good health andopportunities for a better life amongcommunities it is associated with. NFCLhas taken up Community DevelopmentActivities in and around Kakinada as partof its philosophy of “Serving Societythrough Industry”.Village Adoption: NFCL has adopted avillage Kondelpet adjacent to theboundary.a) Water supply: Treated drinking water(potable water) is being supplied to theKondelpet village for which water tankshave been installed with a capacity of 5000lts.b) Education: Primary school is being run,in which a teacher is taking care of theprimary educational needs of Kondelpetvillage.c) Health: A full-fledged dispensary withone doctor and supporting staff beingprovided to extend primary medicare andfirst aid etc., to the villagers.d) Training: Around 12 youth from theneighboring villages were sent toBangalore for training programme onyouth leadership.Health: Care towards physically/mentally challenged children: NFCL isextending 100% financial support to“Early Intervention Project” incoordination with an NGO “UmaManovikas Kendra” at Kakinada. Inthis project, mentally challenged childrenbelow the age of 6 years are beingtrained to live and attend to their basicactivities in addition to administeringphysiotherapy. Parents of the childrenalso accompany these children and aretrained in taking care of their children.This project has received National Awardin 2003 from President of India for thepublic recognition of its’ outstandingperformance in the field of welfare ofpersons with disabilities.Education: As part of our policy todevelop our employees and their familymembers as good and knowledgeablecitizens, Akshara school was establishedin which children of all our associates

are given subsidised education fromLKG to 10th class in CBSE syllabus. Forthe past 3 years, Akshara school stoodas a best school in Kakinada as itachieved 100% results in 10th class with100% first classes. Akshara school hasimplemented number of programmes foroverall development of students.

SUGGESTIONS AND FUTURESTRATEGIES

IN LINE WITH THE VISION, NFCL WOULD

continue to peruse to deliver high qualityservice to the farming communitythrough existing and new activities.Thrust would continue towardstechnology transfer and giving valueadded services to the farmers. Prioritywould also be on farmer training,screening of technical and crop relatedfilms, IFCP campaigns and fielddevelopment activities. Masscommunication media would be leveragedto optimize NFCL presence and promoteits products and services to the rootthrough TV and radio advertisements andother outdoor activities.

Special initiative would be taken inOrissa where paddy productivity is thelowest in India and plans are toconducted demo plots by taking the helpof State Dept. of agriculture and StateAgriculture University.

In order to achieve the above objectiveadequate resources would be channeledtowards introduction and promotion ofnew products. Focused developmentinitiative would be continued for conceptselling activities for specialty fertilisersand zinc products in markets like Orissa,West Bengal and Karnataka where farmerawareness and consumption is less. Briefdescription of future initiatives follows:a) Consumer Panels

A selected group of end-users, opinionleaders, scientists and dealers wouldconstitute to form a consumer panel whereadvice would be sought on NFCL productand service delivery for futuremodifications/improvements thusbenchmarking them with the industry.

It would also act as a platform tounderstand the problems faced by thefarmers; complaints and record theirexpectations on products, services,

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technology, programmes, tools, and imageetc. Based on the feedback necessarydecisions will be taken to improve theproduct and service portfolio, improvedevelopment activities, take new productdecisions, media planning, etc. The panelwould act as a forum for registering thecustomer complaints and also wouldgenerate necessary solution to themanagement for resolving the same in aproactive manner.

The initiative would be a mechanism togauge our strength and weaknesses andplan for the improvement to ensuremaximum customer satisfaction.b) Young Farmers Training Programme

NFCL wants to prepare young successorfarmers to face future challenges byequipping them with latest farmingtechnologies through critically designedtraining programmes. Young farmers arereceptive towards learning and also areinclined to implement the same; keepingin view the above facts NFCL wouldmobilize its resources to train the youngfarmers through on-campus and off-campus training programmes.c) Women Farmers Training Programme

In recent past, state governments aretaking proactive steps towards womenempowerment; current trends shows thatwomen are not only taking active part inagriculture and allied activities but also areacting as influencers in decision makingin the family. Considering the above factswe have designed programmes targetingwomen farmers where training programmeare conducted to help them in capabilityenhancement. The focus is to intensifysuch programmes through on-campus andoff-campus training programmes.d) Feedback Surveys

NFCL gives great deal of importance toall kind of surveys and market researchesto capture the dynamic nature of farmerpreferences and expectations. In additionto regular farmer data collection ondemographics and product and serviceusage pattern, NFCL has plans tointroduce a robust system to map itscustomers satisfaction on the productsand services delivered.

Customer satisfaction surveys would beconducted on periodical basis to map

customers association with NFCL,measure their current satisfaction and tocapture their expectations from NFCL.Based on the feedback, NFCL team wouldmake necessary modifications viz.improvements in existing products,introduce new products, designcustomised services, decide suitablepromotional channels and enhance itsbrand equity from current level.e) Farmer Data Bank

With the view to maintain highestcustomer relationship and map changingcustomer dynamics NFCL maintainscustomer database through ongoing datacollection in a prescribed format. During04-05 NFCL developed a data bank of10,000 farmers.

The data would be used to segmentcustomers based on land holding, cropsgrown, agri input usage, preference ofpromotional channel etc, which would beused for identifying the marginal farmersand help them improve their knowledge onvarious aspects of agriculture that can beimplemented for getting higher yields atoptimal costs. NFCL also keeps theprogressive farmers and opinion leadersinformed about the new developments inagriculture like new products, agriculturepractices, crop information, etc throughmailers.Ongoing Programmes

The above table is a summary of theongoing promotional and rural develop-

ment activities. The table represents thework undertaken during last three years.

NFCL developmental activities are moreinclined towards field orientedprogrammes which are conducted by well-qualified development and salespersonnel. Currently at NFCL aboutfifty post graduates and more thanhundred graduates are employed to carryout planned sales and developmentactivity.

CONCLUSIONSTO SUMMARISE, NFCL BELIEVES IN

marketing its products and servicesthrough extensive field work andbuilding relationships with the end-users. This approach has proved fruitfulin case of the flagship brand NagarjunaUrea and leading brands of Agro-chemicals, Specialty Fertilisers andMicronutrients. Some of these brandshave become household names inNFCL’s marketing territory. Farmers findNFCL’s products and services trustworthyand find reason behind the variousactivities undertaken by NFCL. This is adirect outcome of years of field work andrelationship building exercise carried outby NFCL and the same has been validatedby a leading market research agency(M/s Metric Consultants Limited), whereNFCL has been rated superior in productand services delivery. NFCL envisagescontinuous improvements in its endeavortowards its customers.

Summary of ongoing promotional activities

No. Programmes/activities 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 (est)

1. Farmers meetings (No. of farmers) 30256 34969 34000

2. Farmers trainings (No. of farmers) 14135 16632 18380 On-campus (No. of farmers) 550 656 860 Off-campus (No. of farmers) 13585 15976 17520

3. Demonstrations (No. of plots) 356 530 8404. Growers meetings/crop seminars (No. of farmers) 1785 1872 2416

5. Exhibitions / sandy counters (No. of events) 250 275 305

6. Scientist visit (No. of farmers) 3256 4526 5215

7. Dealers/sub-dealers meetings (No. of dealers) 2100 3170 3850

8. Soil samples (No. of samples) 776 1071 7500

9. Hired jeeps (No. of villages) 450 525 1650

10. A V van - shown films (No. of film shows) 825 1071 1286

11. Tech assts / field assts (No. of man months) 475 640 560

12. IFCP (No. of farmers) 25620 48228 48500

13. Dealers training programmes - FCO related 125 175 215

14. Expenditure (Rs. in lakh) 266 272 275

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indian journal of fertilisers, vol. 2 (1), april 2006, pp ...the economy. the most striking feature...

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