Seeding hope of a good yield with epic names

Faith can move mountains they say. And also seed hope. Paddy and onion farmers in Maharashtra, crippled by the lockdown, unseasonal rains and rising cultivation costs, are buying seeds called Baahubali, Kattapa, Sivagami, Bhima and Durga in the hope of a good kharif season ahead.

As kharif sowing gains momentum in the State, seed brands in the name of mythological characters and fictional film characters have flooded the market. Farmers are picking these up hoping they yield a bumper crop.

The power of names

Seed names play a vital role in purchase decisions, especially in the time of crisis, says SB Wankhede, Executive Director of Seed Industries Association of Maharashtra.

“Seed companies bring their product in the market only after trials and required permissions. The brand name of filmy character, deities and fictional characters attract the attention of farmers,” points out Wankhede.

Industry players say that popular names need less publicity as already the perception about these names is built into the psyche of the masses.

Brand names such as Baahubali, Kattappa, Sivagami, Arjun, Karan, Bhishma at once evoke the character of the person on screen or in epics and farmers tend to associate their qualities with the seeds. Other popular picks are Sona and Nawab in paddy and Kohinoor in onion.

Spinning an aura

Though cotton has not spun great profits for farmers, especially those in Vidarbha and Marathwada region of the State, cotton seeds with names such as Magic, Money Maker, Force are trending in the market.

Communication expert Professor R L Pandit says that names matter a lot in marketing and many of these seed brands are named keeping the target audience in mind. “People connect names with their experience, background and knowledge they have about that particular name. The names of popular characters ring the bells in the minds of the audience and make purchasing decision easy,” he added.

Only a few savvy small farmers Vidya More and Manisha Jadhav say that they must go by the quality of seeds and not by the name. Last season, farmers had faced early germination problems in soyabean, and many had complained about substandard onion and cotton seeds as well.

Meanwhile, State Agriculture Minister Dada Bhuse has said that against the requirement of about 16 lakh quintal seeds for the kharif cultivation, Maharashtra has 17 lakh quintal seeds available for farmers.

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