A Study on Participation of Farmers in Government e-Procurement of Paddy in West Bengal, India: Application of Double Hurdle Model

The decentralized procurement system of paddy from the farmers in India the was introduced by government of India in the year 1997-98. The Government of West Bengal (GoWB) had implemented electronic paddy procurement (e-procurement) system in 2015-16 and included multiple stakeholders like, state co-operatives, women self-help groups and the state essential commodities corporation to procure paddy across districts. The primary aim for the present study is to assess participation of the farmers in government e-procurement system. Applying double hurdle model this paper finds that knowledge of the farmers about government procurement system, status of registration of the farmers in the government channel, distance of the household from mundi are some of the significant factors in first hurdle of selection of market channel . Holding of KCC, total cultivable land and existence of gola (warehouse) are some significant factors in the second hurdle of quantity sale decision.