Marketing information system for citrus crop in Latakia Region, Syria

Haiyan Sulaiman, MSc

Doctoral thesis

Abstract:

Syria is a Mediterranean country where agriculture plays a key role in enhancing the national economy through its multiple contributions to the economic and social development processes. Citrus represents one of the most important crops in the Syrian Arab Republic, consumed both as a fresh fruit and/or a citrus juice. Citrus production provides an important source of income for more than 35,000 Syrian farming families located in the coastal governorships of Lattakia and Tartous. However, citrus farmers in Syria have been facing some urgent problems influencing their production, such as a lack of sufficient access to information sources on (i) markets particularly in rural areas, (ii) relevant sources of such information to citrus producers, and (iii) about the situation at local markets and their trends. Furthermore they lack a suitable storage and sorting facilities, face insufficient financial support and training, which also represent detrimental barriers for small-scale citrus farmers. Therefore, most farmers cannot find the right markets at the right time with the result that frequent fluctuations in citrus supply and demand and significant differences in prices across the local markets regularly occur. This is why an effective Marketing Information System (MIS) needs to be created for the region, particularly to eliminate the high fluctuation in citrus prices during the marketing season, issuing from the existing information asymmetry across markets and stakeholders.Research combined the analysis of secondary data gathered from government and administrative institutions with primary data gathering during the period between 2012-2013 among 400 citrus farmers and 100 market agents and their evaluation. Results documented price fluctuation of citrus products at markets in study area in order to create effective market information system. Secondly, value-chain analysis and added value distribution among farmers was documented. Lastly, a prototype of Marketing Information System was tested with special regard to income increase. This research considers the implementation of a Marketing Information System as a complementary tool for the post-war reconstruction of citrus producing districts in order to take advantage of information and communication technologies such as mobile phones to improve the position of the farmers in local, national, as well as export markets.

Keywords

sources of information, Lattakia, Syria

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 16. 5. 2017

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. Ing. Jan Banout, Ph.D.
• Reader: Lubica Bartová, externi, Miroslava Bavorová, externi, Jindřich Špička, externi

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Doctoral programme / field:
Agricultural Specialization / Sustainable Rural Development in the Tropics And Subtropics