A STUDY ON PROBLEMS AND CONSTRAINTS OF STRAWBERRY FARMING IN SATARA DISTRICT” (With Special reference to Wai and Mahabaleshwar tehsil)

Abstract

Strawberry farming can be both a rewarding and profitable venture, but it requires careful planning and attention to detail. Whether you're planning to grow strawberries on a small scale or run a larger farm, Strawberry farming has emerged as a lucrative agricultural venture in many parts of India, including Satara district in Maharashtra. However, despite its growing popularity, strawberry farmers in Satara face several challenges and constraints that impact productivity and profitability. This study aims to explore the key problems faced by strawberry farmers in Satara and identify the gaps that hinder sustainable strawberry cultivation in the region. The study uses primary data from surveys conducted with local farmers and secondary data from government sources and agricultural research institutions. The district of Satara, located in the western part of Maharashtra, has gained prominence for its strawberry production. The favorable climate and soil conditions, along with proximity to urban markets like Mumbai and Pune, have made Satara an important strawberry-growing region in India. However, despite its potential, strawberry farming faces several challenges ranging from input costs, pest and disease management, inadequate technical knowledge, and market fluctuations. This paper identifies these problems and explores potential solutions. Most of the research is based on secondary data with the help of various journals and newspapers and magazines. For this research we select the 100 respondents (Farmers) for the study of my research. The aim of the study is how strawberry farming is very beneficial to the farmers and which marketing strategies are helpful for reaching this strawberry from local to global. What kind of problems faced by strawberry farmers in Satara district, what kind of economic resources they have used for strawberry cultivation and how to access market, which strawberry farming practices will be the best solution for strawberry farmers for enhancing their quality as well as to satisfy the requirement or need of the customers. In this research, researcher select the 100 strawberry farmers, the data will be collected from the descriptive research design or purposive sampling research technique. It will be based on data researcher collect the demographic variables such as age, nationality, marital status, sex, and other information such as what are the major problems faced by strawberry farmers.