Constraints analysis and suggestions for improving vegetable marketing in peri-urban areas

Abstract:

Peri-urban vegetable growers sit at an unusual intersection close enough to urban markets to catch the price premium, yet far enough to be trapped by the very middlemen who work that short supply chain. This research identified and ranked the marketing constraints faced by 200 peri-urban vegetable growers in the Hanoi and Can Tho belts, using the Garrett ranking technique and Kendall's coefficient of concordance. Data were collected between June 2022 and December 2023 through structured interviews, and the instrument was validated across three pilot rounds. Eighteen specific constraints were clustered into six categories. Price volatility and low realisation emerged as the most severe constraint (Garrett score 88), followed by transport and infrastructure bottlenecks (82), middlemen dominance (74), post-harvest losses (71), absence of market information (68) and credit access (55). The farmer's share of the consumer dong ranged from 42.7% (commission agent channel) to 78.3% (direct-to-consumer channel). Suggestions offered by growers, ranked by Garrett score, centred on the establishment of producer collectives, digital market price boards, cold storage at block level, and reform of commission agent practices. Findings argue for a layered intervention farmer producer organisations plus digital infrastructure plus policy push rather than a single-lever fix.