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

Mr. Md. Mokbul Hossain Mr. Md. Mokbul Hossain

Assistant Professors
Department of Agro. Economics
and Rural Sociology
Faculty of Business Administration
and Management
Assistant Professors
Department of Agro. Economics
and Rural Sociology
Faculty of Business Administration
and Management

Prepared by
Group: 01(Warrior)
Level-II, Semester-II
Faculty 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 Science

Course Code: AES 224
Date of submission: 23 August 2007

PATUAKHALI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

Date: 23 August 2007

To
Mr. Badiuzzaman
Assistant Professors
Department of Agro. Economics and Rural Sociology
Faculty 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-II
Faculty of Business Administration and Management

III
 A cknowledgment

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
 E xecutive 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.

Contents
IV
Section–1

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

Section – 2

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

Section – 3

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

Section – 4

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

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

Section – 5

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

V
 i ntroduction

Bangladesh 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
 O rigin 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
 P urpose 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
 L imitation & Scope of the Report

As a student of faculty of Business Administration and Management, 4th 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
 M ethodology 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.

View of the age of cultivators

15 12
Number of people

10 7
6
5

0
15-25 26-45 46-55
Age of the people

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.

7
 Level of education Percentage
Primary 56
Secondary 28
Higher secondary 16
Higher secondary+ -

Level of education

60 56

50

40
Percentage

30 28

20 16

10
0
0
Primary Secondary Higher Hihger
Secondary Secondary +

Educational Status

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:

Labor

Rickshaw
Others Pooler

Occupation

Small
Shopkeeper business

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

9
The level of income of the watermelon is representing in the following figure-

Source Description Income

Crops Rice, pulse 25000 per acre
Fruits Watermelon, papaya,
muskmelon, banana, 105000
cucumber, potato etc
Agriculture
Fish Small pond, canal,
20000
farming from river etc
Domestic About 4-7 in every
7500
birds family
Domestic 2-4 cows, 1-3 goats in
25000
animal every family
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

Land preparation 51.53%

Irrigation 66.23%
Modern firm
machinery 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.

11
 Society General member Life time member/
executive
Mosque committee 36% 25%
NGO 12% ----
School committee 8% ----
Club 4% ----
Others 8% ----

Members of society
40
35
Percentage

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
M osque NGO School Club Life time Others
committee Committee members

Different position

Percentage

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.

12
Total amount and utilization pattern of land

Ownership pattern
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%

Total amount and utilization pattern of land

100
90
80
70
Percentage

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Own Joint Mortgage Others
Ownershippattern of land

Homestead Garden Pond Cultivation Others

13
 Information regarding problems faced by the farmers form livelihood

Problem faced by the farmers Suggestions

1. Private or public organizations don’t They should maintain proper
take any kind of steps to improve their communication with private or public
daily livelihood. organizations.
2. The political leaders in the rural area
They should aware when they select
don’t take proper steps to improve
political leader.
their livelihood.
3. They get poor medical facilities. Government should aware about it.
4. With the lake of communication with
They should take the right culture which is
city culture their culture did not grow
in favors of them.
up.
5 They get poor entertainment facilities to They can use radio, television for
refresh themselves. entertainment.
6. The education system in Bangladeshi
They should take at list primary education
rural area is very poor so the
as well as the illiterate farmer also can go
watermelon cultivators and their
in mass education school.
children are not well educated.
7. They cannot get proper information They should aware about collecting
from any kind of media like information
newspaper, television etc.

14
 Production of Watermelon
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.

15
Soils and Fertilizer Management

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.

16
Diseases

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:
Watermelons’ estimated production Costs (Per acre)
19
Fixed Cost Variable Cost
Items Amount Items Amount
Land cost (300000 × 12%)/2 18000 Land preparation:
i) Laughing, laddering, 2000
Family labor 10000 and leveling of lands
ii) Making pits 500
Application of manures 1000
Machinery and tools 9000 and fertilizers
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 Cost
Seed 800

Manners and fertilizers

i) crowding 2000
ii) urea 2500
iii)TSP 4000
IV) MP 2500
v) Others 2000

Pesticide 200
0
Fuel / pump 1500
Others 1000
Total 17000

Returns
20

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

Cost and return relatonship

12

10

8
Taka

0
Price per unit Cost per unit Return per unit
Pariculars
 Information regarding problems faced by the farmers in production sector
21
Problem faced by the farmers Suggestions
1. Water:
They can use dip tub-wall, pump, dheki
Watermelon is produced in summer
call, small cannel (drain), etc for take
season. As a result, the cultivators are
water.
facing problem of water
2. Labor unavailability:
If they use modern technology then the
During the cultivation the labor are
demand of labor will be reduce.
unavailable.
3. Electricity
If they use patrol pump or solar system,
For the lack of electricity, the farmers
then the pressure of electricity will be
cannot put security system around the
reduce.
field.
4. Storing:
There is no storing system (store house) They should try to sell their product as
in Patuakhali district for highly yields early as possible.
crop
5. Transport:
For this purpose, they can talk with
Lack of transport facilities, the
Union Parishad Chairman for get
cultivators cannot get fertilizer,
fertilizer and insecticide timely.
insecticide properly
6. Education:
The farmers do not have a proper The farmers get proper knowledge of
knowledge of cultivation of cultivation of watermelon from the
watermelon. Agriculture officer of Upazila or NGO.
7. Organization:
For getting proper information they need
The watermelon cultivators get poor
to maintain relation ship with Union
information about the cultivation from
Parishad as well as Agriculture officer of
any type of organization (public or
Upazila or NGO.
private).
8. Credit:
The cultivators take high interest lone They can make or involve with the co-
from the wholesaler and get compelled operative society such as BRACK,
to sale their product to the wholesaler Gramin Bank, ASA etc. for solving this
in a low price. problem.
9. Natural disaster: In this aspect they try to gather
The natural disaster is a problem to information about weather from radio,
them, which has no cure. 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.

Producer/Farmer

Dealer/Agent Local businessman

Local commission agent Whole seller

Retailer

Consumer

Fig: Distribution channels of Watermelon

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

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 Price per Mode of

sale Type of buyer Amount/percentage unit 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 market

Producers/farmers city market
Producers/farmers business organization
Producers/farmers supermarket or departmental store
Producers/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: They can make co-operative society to

There is no fixed distribution system maintain marketing distribution channel
of watermelon. properly.
2. Price: To avoid this situation they can sale their
The price of the watermelon is reduced whole field of water melon at a time to
after collecting from field. the dealer or wholesaler.

3. Fluctuations:
They can sale their product, where they
The price is fluctuated in respect of get better price.
season
4. Intermediaries: Direct sale to the consumer or retailers
The intermediaries took large portion can avoid this situation.
of profit.
5. Market facilities: For get fulfill market facility they can
Market facilities are insufficient make co-operative society among their
area.
6. Measurement scale: In this purpose they can take help from
Measurement scales for watermelon the Union Parishad as well as Agriculture
are imperfect officer of Upazila or NGO.

7. Transport:
The farmers couldn’t transfer their They can use group marketing process to
product to the market properly solve this problem.
because of lack of transport facilities.
8. Storing:
In this purpose they can take help from
As they have no storehouse they
the Union Parishad as well as Agriculture
couldn’t Store their product for
officer of Upazila or NGO.
getting better price on the next time.

9. Information: In this aspect they try to gather

Information of market is not available information from radio, television,
to them. 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.

26
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.

27
 C onclusion

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.

28
 Bibliography

1. Purseglove J. W. “Tropical Crops Dicotyledons,” Volume – I and II combined,

2nd edition 1969, P. 102-107.

2. Internet.

APPENDIX 29
 An Interview Schedule on
Production and Marketing System of Watermelon in Some Selected Areas of
Patuakhali District

Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology

Faculty of Business Administration and Management
Patuakhali Science and Technology University

Sample no : …………………….………….………..
Identification of the respondent: ……………………………….………...
Name : …………....…………………………...
Village : ……………………………...…………
Union : ………………………………………...
Upazila : ………………………………………...
District : ………………………………………...

Information regarding level of livelihood of the farmer

1. Age:
2. Level of education
Primary secondary higher secondary higher secondary +
3. Family status
Total Number Dependent No.
Type Earning member
Male Female Total of Member

4. Occupation

Past Present Future

Main subsidiary Main subsidiary Main subsidiary

5. Level of income (monthly/ annually)

Source of income Description Amount of income 30

 Agriculture
i. Crops
ii. Fruits
iii. Fish farming
iv. Domestic bird
v. Domestic animals
Service
Business
others
total

6. Expenditure patterns (monthly/ annually)

Items
a) Housing
b) Fooding
c) Clothing
d) Medicine
e) Education
f) Entertainment
g) Others
Total

7. Family information

Relationship with respondent Age Education Occupation

8. Use of media and technology

31
Items Yes No
 1. Modern farm machineries
a) Land preparation
b) Irrigation
c) Weeding
d) Seed sawing
e) Pesticiding
f) Harvesting
2. Electricity
3. Radio
4. Television
5. Cell phone

9. Member of different society

Society General Member Executive Member

Mosque
Committee
NGO
School committee
Club
Others

10. Information regarding utilization patterns of lands

Total amount and utilization of land

Types of land Amount Ownership Utilization pattern

Homestead
Garden
Pond
Land for
cultivations
Others
Total

11. Information regarding cost and return

32
 Fixed cost

Items Amount
Land cost
Family labor
Machinery and tools
Interest on operating capital
Others
Total
Variable cost

Items Amount
Land preparation:
i) Ploughing, laddering, and leveling of
lands
ii) Making pits
Application of manures and fertilizers
Seed sowing
Irrigations and drainage
Weeding
Pesticiding
Protection
Harvesting
Carrying
Total

12. Returns

% of Return (Return Per

Price Per Unit Cost per Unit Return Per Unit Unit/ Cost per Unit

13. Information Regarding Marketing System

Buying and Selling Information
33
 Place of Type of Amount Price per Pricing Method of
sale buyer unit rules payment

14. Information regarding problems faced by the farmers

Problem faced by the farmers Suggestions

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

34