Rml Project

8/8/2019 Rml Project

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RML-THOMSONREUTERS

2010

A PROJECT REPORT ON

Awareness and

Upliftment of the

farmers

By: Rajesh Sahni

Roll No.-264, MBA- 2nd SEM (Amity Global Business School)

A M I T Y G L O B A L B U S I N E S S S C H O O L , M O H A L I


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Rajesh Sahni, Roll No. 264

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DECLARATION

This is to declare that I am Rajesh Sahni the student of post

graduate programme in MBA, Amity Global Business School, Mohali

has given original data & information to the best of my knowledge

project report entitled Awareness and upliftment of the farmers

in two district ofPunjab & that no part of this information has been

used for any assignment but for the partial fulfilment of the

requirements towards the completion of the said course.

Date: 20-07-2010 Rajesh Sahni

Place: Chandigarh ROLL NO: - 264

AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL

MOHALI,

CHANDIGARH, PUNJAB

MBA (2nd

)

Amity Global Business School

Mohali

(Amity University)


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CERTIFICATE

This is that the project entitled Awareness and Upliftment of

Farmers is a bonafide work done by Mr. Rajesh Sahni under our

guidance and supervision and it embodies the result of their original

contribution. The project has been submitted for the partial fulfilment

of Post Graduate degree in MBA 2009-2011, Amity Global Business

School, Mohali. No part of this project has been submitted elsewhere

either in part or full for any other degree or diploma.

I wish him all success in the future.

Prof Shivali Dhingra EXTERNAL EXAMINER

ACADEMIC HEAD

AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL,

Mohali (Chandigarh)


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Acknowledgement

No good work flows without the help from Faculty Members Industrial

Professionals, Colleagues, Organization and Friends

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to THOMSON REUTERS LTD. for

giving me the opportunity to work as a summer trainee in their organization. I got the

opportunity to understand their business and have an enriching experience and learning.

I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Rajinder Bawa (Area Sales

Manager Amritsar) and Prof Shivali Dhingra.

Next I would like to express our sincere thanks again to Prof Shivali Dhingra.

Academic head of MBA (AGBS) for her support, guidance and help. I am also thankful to

Mr. Rakesh Anand (A.S.M Jalandhar) for their valuable cooperation and guidance. I

would also like to thank all the staff of Amity Global Business School, Mohali.

I bow down my head with deep devotion to the supreme Load, parents & family

members & friends who have given me this spiritual inspiration for completing this project

work successful. Last but not the least I owe my project to the farmers, without whose co-

operation and help, I would not have completed this project.

RAJESH SAHNI

ROLL NO. -264


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Our project namely, AWARENESS AND UPLIFTMENT OF FARMERS was

carried out in the selected villages of JALANDHAR AND AMRITSAR districts of

PUNJAB state. I had a very ice experience while interacting with the farmers of this region.

Our main objective was to reach the target farmers and to investigate the depth of knowledge

about fertilizers and micronutrients.

At the initial stages we faced many difficulties while collecting desired data from the

farmers. Farmers interrogated us about various things regarding our purpose of visit, our

identity, which company we are from, and the benefit they will get from the survey. We

assured them that we are the student ofM.B.A and doing this as a part of our course.

The project is based on the rural market survey for the Reuter Market Light SMS

service to the farmers. In this project market survey has to be done with the existing users of

the sevice.

For this project I interviewed 100 farmers from both the districts JALANDHAR and

AMRITSAR, through questionnaires, personal interviews in villages like Nakodar, Phillaur,

Shahkat, Bhogpur, Tanda, Hoshiarnagar, Bhakna, Cheecha, and Lalpur etc. RML sms service

is not much effective in these villages. Farmers are not much aware about these services

because most of the farmers are not educated so they are not able to understand the

information provided by SMSs.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.No ParticularsPageNumber

1. DECLARATION 2

2. CERTIFICATE 3

3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 4

4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5

5. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE AND METHADOLOGY 7

6. COMPANY PROFILE 9

7. RML- Empowering farmers with data 12

8. DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE 14

9. VILLAGE LIST 15

10. FARMERS PROFILE 16

11. ATTITIDE 18

12. KEY FINDINGS 19

13. SUGGESTIONS 20

14. CONCLUSION 21

15. BIBLIOGRAPHY 22

THANK YOU


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RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY

Objective of the study

As desired by company, research study of project Awareness and upliftment ofthe

Farmers were conducted in Punjab. In this study as exhaustive interview of farmers &

Retailers from different villages of Punjab was done by using well structured questionnaires.

The main objectives of market research are:-

1. To know about service awareness of RML.

2. To know about the satisfaction level of farmers, whether they are satisfied by

the service provided by the Thomson Reuters or not.

3. Awareness and knowledge about RML services and its uses.

REASERCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem, formulating a

hypothesis, collecting the facts or data, analyzing the fact and reaching certain conclusion either in the

form of solutions towards the concerned problems. Thus methodology not only talks about the

research methods but also consider the logic behind the method we use behind the context of our

research study.

Defining the research problem

Review about the concept of project

Sample designing

Collection of data through structured questionnaire

Analysis of data

Interpretation and report writing


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Type of Research:-

The research methodology adopted for this project is Descriptive research methodology.

Data Source:-

The analysis is an output of primary data which is collected from a structured

questionnaire .That was being filled up from considered villages with randomly selected

responded through depth interview.

Primary Data: has been collected through personal contact. For this purpose both

Questionnaire and one-on-one interview was considered with the Farmers, villagers.

Secondary data: has collected from internet for company profile, literature review. For this

purpose I visited the companys website.

Research Approaches:-

The approaches for primary data collection are as follows:

Survey Research: Mostly the research was done by developing a survey instrument, a

questionnaire, based on that respondents were interviewed. This research helped us to find

that how much the farmers are satisfied from the services provided by Thomson Reuters.

Observational Research: Fresh data was collected by observing in the relevant places, this

can be how farmers react when they receive Companys SMS services, how they use these

technology services to take advantages.

SAMPLE DESIGNING

Sample design is definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population.

Sample design is determine before data are collected .We has collected a data from a farmer

population and sampling units were selected under certain criteria. The criteria is

Eligible respondents

y MALE

y 18-70 years

y The respondents should not be related to-

o Advertising agency

o Public relation

o Journalism


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o Market research agency

o Company manufacturing or selling any agriculture Product And the

individuals who are not surveyed within six months

Sample size

We have collected data from farmer population and the sampling units were selected

villages of different blocks. Our sample size was 100 respondents from different villages of

Jalandhar and Amritsar Districts.

The parameters of interest were well structured questionnaire. Quantitative survey

was carried out in a random manner by taking the interview of farmers. Approximately

30mnts was devoted to each farmer for the interview.


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Company Profile

Thomson Reuters is an information company created by the Thomson Corporation's

purchase of Reuters on 17 April 2008.[2] Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto

Stock Exchange (TSX: TRI) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TRI). Thomson

Reuters is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA. The WoodbridgeCompany, a holding company for the Thomson family of Canada, owns 53% of the group,[3]

which operates in 100 countries, and has over 55,000 employees.

Thomson Reuters Corporation is a provider of information for the world's businesses and

professionals. The Company is organized in two divisions: Markets and Professional. The

Markets division consists of financial and media businesses. The Markets division serves

financial services and corporate professionals globally, with Reuters Media serving

professional and consumer media market. The Markets division delivers critical information,

supporting technology and infrastructure to a diverse set of customers. The Markets division

consists of Sales & Trading, Investment & Advisory, Enterprise and Media businesses. TheProfessional division consists of the Companys businesses in the Legal, Tax & Accounting,

and Healthcare & Science sectors. The Company's corporate headquarters are located in New

York, with major operations in the United Kingdom, India, and Eagan, Minnesota. It operates

in over 100 countries. In March 2010, the Company acquired Round Table Group.

Reuters Market Light (RML) was recognized as the first personalized professionalinformation service to the farming community in India. The Financial Times-Just meansSocial Innovation Awards launched last year to recognize the latest concepts and practicalapplications that advance social needs and better business. "Base of the pyramid strategy"refers to companies that have created innovative market and social opportunities by providing

goods and services to the part of the world's population that lives on less than $2 a day.

VISION

The Power of Their Vision Lies in its Simplicity

At Thomson Reuters, we pride ourselves on working every day to achieve our missionand

exceed our vision. We continue to look forward as we develop technologically-advanced

software that makes your work more efficient and more profitable.

MISSION

Their Mission Statement

To improve the productivity and profitability of practicing accountants by


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1. Utilizing relevant technology and the specialized knowledge of our staff to provide

software and services of unique value and high quality to our customers and

2. Serving all our customers with integrity and fairness and with a view toward a long-

term relationship.

CORE VALUES

y Honesty and integrity

y Excellence

y Discipline and Hard work

y Caring for the people

FOCUS

RML has been widely covered in national and international media and receivedrecognition from the United Nations Development Fund and the World Bank for positivelycontributing to the development at the bottom of the pyramid. By the end of 2008, RML

plans to expand its operations in two more Indian states. Maharashtra and India is just abeginning. RML is gearing up to tap the new markets across the globe.

The company is deeply committed to the development and welfare of the farmingcommunity .It has undertaken rural upliftment programmes in selected districts wherefertilizers consumption is very low.

Text Messages on Weather, Market Prices, Agriculture News and Crop Tips:-

Since its launch in 2007, over 200,000 farmers in 15,000 villages across 10 states in India have

subscribed to RML. It provides localized and personalized information via SMS text messages on

weather, market prices, local and international agriculture and commodity news, and crop advisory

tips enabling farmers to make informed decisions, reduce waste and maximize their profits.

Making a Positive Contribution

This award is the latest recognition for Reuters Market Light. In 2008 it was named by theUnited Nations as one of the business initiatives that have the potential to contribute to theMillennium Development Goals. RML has been widely featured in leading media includingthe Economist, BBC, and Wall Street Journal and is used as a case study in several leadingacademic institutes including London Business School and Cambridge University.

Knowledge to Act - Help for Emerging Markets

RML employs more than 300 full-time content professionals, offering news and data on morethan 150 crops, 1,000 markets and 2,000 weather locations across 12 states of India. The

service crossed the $1 million sales mark in 2009. As the business model becomesestablished in India and as our distribution and marketing strategy matures, we expect to

expand the benefit of our pioneering business to millions of farmers in India, and to otheremerging markets in the near future.


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Reuters Market Light:

Empowering farmers with data

Jasbir Singh, a farmer in Punjab, a western state of India, is a Reuters Market Light (RML)

subscriber. He regularly receives the weather forecast and local market news on his mobile

phone.

On a sunny day last October, a text message told him that it would rain heavily. As a result,

he hired more labourers and harvested his soybean and cotton on the same day, whilst the

crops of many other farmers were destroyed by the unexpected rain.

In Punjab, tens of thousands of farmers now consult their mobile phones to plan their day.

They trust the decision-critical information delivered via SMS by Reuters Market Light

(RML), an innovative new information service from Thomson Reuters.

The RML service helped us keep tabs on the market; it informed us about the price trends;

helped us decide where and when to sell our produce, said a farmer as he reaped the harvest

of profit15 to 23 per cent higher than average, without compressing the long supply chain.

Now Question arise that why do farmers need data?

Nearly 60 per cent Indias working population (610 million according to the 2001 Census)

make their living from the land. But farmers are not generally well paid.

By one estimate, farmers in India get only 20-25% price of their final produce compared to

40-50% for farmers in the West, due in part to supply chain inefficiencies, a surplus of

middlemen and lack of market transparency.

Farmers need information like prices of produce in spot and futures markets, and weather

forecasts. Armed with this timely, accurate and relevant information, farmers can bargain for


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- and get - better prices and improve their yields. Some RML customers have made as much

as GBP 2500 of extra profits within 7 days of using RML.

RML: built from the ground up

Following 18 months of market research, concept tests and market trials, RML was built from

the ground up and rolled out by Thomson Reuters. It applies an innovative acquisition and

service model to provide personalized and customized content to the farmer.

RML was launched in the state of Maharashtra on October 1, 2007 and since the launch,

RML has acquired over 30,000 customers.

Mobile and RML: A perfect platform

The current penetration of mobile phones in rural India is somewhere between 3-5%. With

increasing mobile saturation in urban markets (up to 60%), the carriers and handsetmanufacturers are looking to aggressively grow their market in rural India. RML is also in

tune with the impending structural reforms in agriculture marketing. The corporate, agro

processing industries, organized retail chains and the Commodities Future Exchanges, are

looking for the platform that will help them integrate farmers, particularly the small land

holders. RML provides the critical link.

Before RML farmers had very limited information on current and local market prices for theircrops or timely information that would help them be guided on when to harvest their crop.This hindered market efficiency, reduced yields, increased wastage and could severely impactupon a farmers earnings and livelihood. Importantly, as well as helping farmers to get the

best price, RMLs accurate and timely information has the potential to reduce crop wastage,which across India runs into billions of dollars each year.

Given the success of the pilot scheme, Reuters is to launch Reuters Market Light on a fullcommercial basis. Reuters Market Light will now introduce a small customer charge of Rs.60

per month. RML will also now be rolled out across other rural areas in India, extending itsoffering beyond Maharashtra State.

Reuters will also soon be piloting another very exciting offering that extends the currentRML information service to one that facilitates transactions by connecting farmers withvarious buyers and traders through their mobile phones.

Reuters Market Light provides crucial, local and customised agricultural information forIndian farmers via mobile phones, including crop prices, weather updates and other agric-related news. The aim is to facilitate greater transparency in the Indian agricultural marketsallowing individual farmers to increase their productivity and maximise their revenue.


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Rajes

Sahni, Roll No. 264

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DE LE

Demography of Amri ar:-

Amrit ri a cit i t nort t rn part of India and i t admini trati headquarters of

Amritsar districtin the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population

ofthe cit to be over 1,500,000, with that ofthe entire district numberingjust over 3,695,077.

Amritsaris 32 kilometres (20 mi east of Lahore, Pakistan and therefore, very close to India's

western border with Pakistan.

As of 2007, Sikhs form a majority in Amritsar consisting about 74% ofthe population,

Hindus being the largest minority at 26%. Males and females constitute 55% and 45% ofthe

population, respectively. Amritsar has an average literacy rate of 75% (which is higherthan

the national average of 59.5%). 15% ofthe population is under 6 years of age. The ma in

spoken language in Amritsar and in the surrounding villages is thePunjabi dialect ofMaajhi,considered to be Standard Punjabi. Otherlanguages spoken in the city are Hindi and English

Amritsaris currently witnessing rapid urban growth. Government of India and Governmentof Punjab have unveiled a Rs. 3,150 Crore plan to moderni e Amritsar. Money from the planwould fund construction of roads, water and sewage management, and a mass Rapid transitsystem. Amritsar has witnessed a spurtin high-end residential property and multiplexdevelopment, courtesy the government s decision to set up a special economic zone there.

Leading property developers from north India have lined up a series oftownships comprisingof villas, luxury apartments, service apartments and penthouses. About a dozen malls are also

in various phases of completion. A new city Convention Centre has been planned (as ofOctober 2007), as are four 5-star hotels by the Radisson group (setto open by October 2008),the Taj group of hotels, the Holiday Inn Group and the Marriott group.

New localities like Sahej enclave are set up by Puda forthe Elite in town. Amritsarlately hasbecome hub forMedicare for North India. To protect Amritsar's historical and religiousheritage, part ofthe new budgetis dedicated to the preservation of religious shrines in thecity.


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Demography of Jalandhar:-

Jalandharis the oldest districtin the state of Punjab. The districtis located at about 84

kilometres to the southeast of Amritsar on the Grand TrunkRoad while going to Kolkata. Itis

also the foremost producers ofthe sports goods in India. The iron and steel re-rolling mills,

automobile parts, electric goods, rubber goods, and handloom products and sewing machinefavtories are well known. The name Jalandhar has been derived from a demon king with

the same name, who finds a mention in Indian Purans and Mahabharata. As per another

legend, Jalandhar happens to be the capital ofthe kingdom of Lav, one ofthesons of Lord

Rama. There is still another saying that, Jalandhar gotits name from one ofthe terms in the

vernacular called, Jalandhar which means the region inside the water, i.e. a pathway

positioned in between the two rivers called Beas and Sutlej. Jalandharis placed at a distance

of one hundred and forty six kilometres from the capital city ofChandigarh.

As perthe 2001 Census provational, Jalandhar district possesses an area of3,401 square

kilometres and the district holds a total population of 19,53,508 persons including 9,26,973

females and 10,26,535 males.

VILLAGELIST

DIS

RICTJALANDHAR

Vill.Nakodar

Vill.Phillaur

vill. Shahkot

Vill. Bhogpur

vill. Tanda

DISTRICTAMRITSAR

Vill.

Hoshiarnagar

Vill. Bhakna

Vill.Cheecha

Vill. TalwandiDogra

Vill. ThathiSohal

Vill. Malchak

Vill. Lalpur


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FARMERS PROFILE

1.1:-AGE:-Most ofthe farmers are belonging underthe age group of 46-50.

AGE PROFILE

Fig. 1.1:-Data source from the farmers

1.2:-EDUCATION PROFILE: - 28% ofthe farmers are formally literate.

Fig. 1.2:- Data source from farmers

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

18-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 40-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 61-65 66-70

Amritsar

Jalandhar

12%

28%

21%

13%

16%

7% 3%

EDUCATION PROFILEILLITRATE LITTRATE NONMATRIC MATRIC

ATTENDEDCOLLGE GRADUATE POSTGRADUATE


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1.3:- TYPE OF FARMERS: Most of the farmers are small farmers.

Most of the farmer in villages of both the Districts is small farmers.

Numbers of marginal farmers are also normal.

They all use the Thomson Reuters SMS service but only few are able to understand

the language of SMS.

1.4:- RML Awareness in Amritsar and Jalandhar Districts:-

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Marginal(less than 1

hac)

Small(1-4 hac) Mediam(4-10 hac) Large(more than10

hac)

mritsar

Jalandhar

5

20

50

25

RML Awareness in Amritsar and Jalandhar

istricts

ull Knowledge

60%

knowledge aboutRM

Lservices

40% Knowledge

Cannot

nderstand


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In Amritsar and Jalandhar district only 5% farmers are educated enough that

they can properly understand the information Thomson Reuters providing

them by their SMS services.

Only 20% farmers or we can say on 20 farmers out of 100 have 60%

knowledge about what information Thomson Reuters are giving them through

SMS. 50 percent or 50 farmers out of 100 have 40% knowledge about RML.

Out of hundred 25 % farmers are those who totally cannot understand what

dose these SMSs mean or they dont have mobile phones or they dont know

properly how to operate the phone, how to open the message box or messages

etc.

1.5:- ATTITUDE

y Satisfactory level is mixed. As the subsidies given by the central govt. do not reach tothe farmers according to the govt. plan.

y The intermediate is involved in the govt. offices do not give the proper information

regarding subsidies.y Farmers of both the districts are not well educated so they cannot properly understand

the information provided by Thomson Reuters to them by SMS service so they cant

make profit by this information.

y Few farmers who are educated are satisfied with the services of Thomson Reuters.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Very

Dissatisfied

Dissatisfied neither

satisfied nor

dissatisfied

satisfied very satisfied can't say

Attitude

Series 1


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DATA INTERPRETATION AND ANAL SIS

Questionnaire (E isting users)

1) Question. 1.Subscription

In Punjab RML service subscription time 1year (100%)

2) How did you come to know about RML

37% farmers said they come 2 know aboutRML through salesmen of

Thomson Reuters, 43% came to know aboutthis service through retailers and

distributors.

Those farmers who are educated they are few thus only 5% of farmers know

aboutRML services through leaflets or posters.

5% through friends and about 10 % are those who came to know aboutRML

through all ofthem above.

0%0%

100%

Su s iption

3 months

months

1year

37

43

55

10 salesman

retailer/distributer

Friends

leaflets/posters

through all of them


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3)Which out of the services you like most/ beneficial to you?

25% farmers out of those who are aware about RML said weather news is mostbeneficial and for 25% information about mandi rates is useful.

While 30% said crop advisory is beneficial and rest 20% taking advantage ofagricultural news.

4) Are you benefited out of it?

Answers for this question were not much in favor of Thomson Reuters 63% farmers

said RML is not beneficial for them, they are those farmers who are not educated and

thus not aware about RML and not able to understand the information Thomson

Reuters providing to them through RML.

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

weat

er

ews cr

p a

vis

ry

a

i rates agric

lt

re

ews

Yes

37%

N

63%

Benefits


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37% percent said yes RML services are beneficial forthem, they are those who are

educated ortake help from other few educated farmers to understand the RML

services. They found its services regarding mandi rates very much beneficial as it save

theirtime;they get allthe information about changes in mandi rates in their hands

through SMS.

5) Would you like to continue using services?

When I asked them would they like to continue using these services 37 % farmers

said yes because RML weather news, mandi rate, agriculture news and crop

advisory services are beneficialto them.

But 63% farmers said No, they are not able to understand RML services becausethey are not educated cant read and understand the information provided through

SMS to them.

6) Have you recommended this Product to your friends?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

yes No

45%

55%

yes

no


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45%farmers said yes they would like to recommend this productto their other farmerfriends who are educated and can take advantages ofRML services.

55% farmers said NO because they are notinterested in these services.

7) Are you aware of RMLToll-free-No.?

Most ofthe farmers are not aware ofthe RML toll-free-no.

Only 20% farmers are aware ofRML toll free numbers.

8) Do you know process of changing Crops?

30% said yes they know the process of changing crops.

But 70% farmers dont know the process of changing crops because they are not

educated and like traditional agriculture methods or processes of changing crops only.

0%

20%

0%

60%

80%

yes no

30%

70%

yes

no


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9) Your Satisfaction with the Product

65 % farmers are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied only 25 % educated farmers aresatisfied with RML services.

5 % are very satisfied they would like to recommend RML services to their othereducated or uneducated farmer friends so thatthey can take benefits ofRML services

also.

1% are dissatisfied and 3% cant say anything, they are confuse.

10) Product fulfilled your expectation up to

Only 5% farmers said RML highly fulfilled their expectations and 25% farmers saidRML services are good, they fulfilled their expectations by providing them weather

news, mandi rates information, crop advisory and agriculture news.

0

10

20

30

40

5060

70

dissatisfied neither satisfied

nor dissatisfied

satisfied verysatisfied can't say

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

higher good lower not fullfiledexpectations


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65% said RML or Thomson Reuters products fulfilled their expectations atlower

level as they dont understand their services. And 5% said their products not fulfilled

their expectations.

Questionnaire (Retailers)

1) Are you aware of the RML Process completely?

Only 30% retailers are not aware ofthe RML process completely rest 70% retailers are

completely aware aboutthe RML process.

2) Do you know the Process of Activation of Card?

70%

30%

yes

no

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

yes

no


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Most ofthe retailers know the process of activation of card, they should know aboutitatleast fortheir business, these are basic things. But still 11% retailers dont evenknow the process of activation of card.

3) What you find good in RML that can attract farmers?

According to retailers point of view information aboutMandi rates provided by RMLattractthe farmers most, percentage forthis is 45%, because RML provide theminformation about mandi rates in their hands and save theirtime as they dont need tovisit mandis for mandi rate information.

AfterthatCrop advisory and weather news also attractthe farmers 20% and 20%respectively and in last agriculture news and percentage is 15 %.

4) Do you have PoP?

85% retailers have PoP AND 15% have no PoP.

0%

10%

0%

30%

0%

50%

weather news crop advisory mandi rates agriculture news

85%

15%

yes

no


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5) Is Product easily accessible to you?

70% retailers said yes product is easily accessible to them.

But for 30% retailers product is not easily accessible.

6) Have you taken feedback from farmers (existing users)?

87% retailers said yes they taken feedback from farmers but response of

farmers toward RML services was not good. And 13% retailers take no feedback.

yes

87%

13%

yes


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7) Did sale team visit or phone you time to time?

Answer of 80% retailers was yes when I asked them that sale team visit or phone

them time to time or not. And 10% said no. They are not satisfied with the Thomson Reuters sale teams

services.

8) Are you happy with the process?

85% retailers are happy with this process. But 15% retailers are not happy.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

yes no

85

15

yes

no


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KEY FINDINGS

1) Farmers are not fully satisfied with the services of RML- Thomson Reuters. Because

they are not educated and not able to understand the information properly Thomson

Reuters giving to them by SMS services.

2)

Tthe subsidies given by the central govt. do not reach to the farmers according to thegovt. plan.

3) The intermediate is involved in the govt. offices do not give the proper information

regarding subsidies.4) The rate of the crops fluctuates in the market everyday like Basmati, wheat and sarson.

The weather forecast regarding the rain is not accurate it may be because of mansoon.

5) The language in the SMS with Punjabi features in English is bit of concern for the

farmers. They cant understand the SMS language as it is written in Punjabi as the

word is of English.

6) Farmers who are satisfied with the services:-

y

Parminder Singh from village Bhakna is fully satisfied with the services; hegot good response for the subsidies for the tractor and piniri.

y Sandeep Singh from village Hoshiarnagar is also satisfied with the subsidies;

he got the subsidy on zinc.

y Ravi Sher Singh from the village Cheecha is satisfied from the mandi rates

and subsidy.

These are some satisfied customers and other are having some problems regarding the

services it may be due to the lack of interest and less knowledge about the product.

7) Very less farmers are aware about RML services.

8)

Farmers who are aware about the services, RML helping them to enhance their cropyields and improve their productivity over a very wide range of produce including

onion, cotton, soybean, pulses, pomegranates and orange.

9) Reuters will be developing Reuters Market Light, from an information service, to a full

mobile news, information and price facilitator.


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Page | 29

SUGGESTIONS

Price should be less:-

Thomson Reuters charge 850 Rs annually for these services, this price is high, small farmers

cant afford this price thats why they dont show there interest in subscription of theseservices. Thus they should reduce their price for these services, should be up to 500 Rs

annually so that at least those farmers who are educated enough to understand these services

can subscribe there services and not step backward just because of high prices.

Should avoid Selling through societies:-

Selling should be face to face not through societies, because sometimes societies dont

provide proper information or transaction of information is not at time.

Promotional Activities-

Field Demonstration.

Advertisement.

Jeep Campaign.

The most effective promotional activities are field demonstration, jeep campaign.

Because of that most of the farmers are illiterates so they can only understand by field

demonstration and jeep campaign. When I talk to the farmers they told that every company

told that their product is good but when we see the effect of product in the fieldis good or bad

then we decide that this product is good or not.

Another promotional activity is jeep campaign which is most effective because by the

jeep company directly aware to the farmers.

Timely Availability-

Subsidies should be timely available, because most of the farmer objection they not

get subsidies at time. Due to unavailability retailer demanding high price to the farmers, that

should be effective to farmers perception.

Awareness of RML-

Awareness of RML is not good, farmers dont know how to use the information

provided them by SMS and what the advantage of RML they are habituated to used the

traditional farming. About RML Phospho-gypsum farmers they dont know. Company should

give preference of advertisement and arrange farmer meeting in village and gave some

knowledge about RML.


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Page | 30

CONCLUSION

At the last, I concluded that in the companys point of view, the overall performance is not

that well in both the districts, AMRITSAR and JALANDHAR. In both the districts there are

less promotional activities. Farmers are not aware about the companys services.

Most of the farmers are small farmers and they are not educated enough to understand the

services of RML, they cant read the messages of weather news, mandi rates, crop advisory

and agriculture news information. For them RML services are not useful. But few farmers,

educated farmers said that RML services are beneficial for them. They are taking advantages

of their weather news, mandi rate informations etc. But because of their high annual charges

for these services some educated farmers also dont show their interest in RML services, so

they should reduce their prices for these services so that farmers can afford their services.

Others include:

The company should ensure the timely availability of their products or subsidies at a

particular place based on demand.

There should be appropriate provisions of information flow among the farmers about

the new products launched.

The company should ensure the regular visit of their representatives to solve the

problems of farmers at their best related to the products.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://thomsonreuters.com/

http://www.slideshare.net/michaellynton/thomson-reuters-magazine

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL0134842920071001

References:-

y Thomson Reuters Magazine Solutions ( Grow your business )

y Kotler P. (2000) Marketing Management, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice HallInternational.

y Kotler P. and Armstrong G. (2004) principle of marketing (10th edition) NewJersey: prentice hall

y Mr. Rajinder Bawa ( Area Sales Manager, Amritsar)

y Mr. Rakesh Anand ( Area Sales Manager, Jalandhar)

y Reuters About Reuters About us

y Malhotra Naresh K., Marketing Research, An Applied Orientation, 5th

edition.

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