Factors Affecting Farmers` Higher Gain from Paddy Marketing: A Case Study on Paddy Farmers in North Central Province, Sri Lanka

This study focused to identify the likelihood factors affecting on farmers’ higher gain from paddy marketing in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka, where the main paddy cultivation area of the country. The required data was drawn from the field survey carried out in three irrigation systems covering 257 farmers during July to August 2010. The empirical logit model was used to assess factors. The study found that imperfections of existing paddy marketing system in the area due to concentrated market power among few oligopolistic buyers. Furthermore, land size, land ownership, poor accessibility in formal sector credit market and farmers involvement in informal sector credit sources are critical to farmers’ decisions to gain higher returns from paddy marketing. The results further showed the need of reviewing the roles and functions of government extension services and farmer organizations with regard to the paddy marketing.