An attempt has been made in this research script to examine the major constraints in relation to production and marketing of wheat faced by the wheat growers and their marketing functionaries in Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh in the present context. For this multiple stage sampling design were adopted for the selection of blocks, villages, cultivators and their marketing functionaries. To achieve the objective, a sample of 80 cultivators was collected from the randomly selected 10 villages, five each from the randomly selected two blocks. Additionally, a sample of five marketing functionaries each consisting of traders, wholesalers, processors and retailers were collected in order to find out their marketing problems. To analyse the problems and constraints in wheat production and marketing, Henry Garrett’s ranking technique was followed. The findings revealed that both cultivators and intermediaries faced a range of challenges that affect the efficiency of wheat supply chain. While, cultivators were mainly constrained by production risks, dependency on middlemen, and limited bargaining power; intermediaries encountered transportation challenges, price volatility and infrastructural hurdles. The analysis thus indicated that both production and marketing hurdles significantly affect productivity and profitability and efficiency of wheat supply chain. Addressing these constraints through improved seed distribution, labour management, better market linkage, and development of infra-structure and processing facilities could enhance the overall performance of wheat sector.

Highlights

a.        Production constraints of wheat

b.       Marketing constraints of wheat