Browsing by Author "Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P."
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Item Analysis of Factors Affecting for Tea Exporters’ Perception on Value Addition(Uva Wellassa University of Srilanka, 2011) Abeyrathna, S.M.J.C.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Bandara, C.Note: See the PDF Version Sri Lanka is a country which is having a predominat agricultural economy. With the effects of globalization, the country is looking forward to strengthen the economy through the export expansion. Tea is one of major exporting crops in Sri Lanka which contributes to the growth of country's economy. Sri Lanka is recognized as one of the largest tea exporter in the world. Ceylon tea enjoys a reputation as world's superior quality tea due to its unique flavor and aroma. Though the Ceylon tea having the best recognition in the world market, it is gradually losing the market share due to escalating cost of production and continuous focus on undifferentiated bulk tea exports. The term "value added" in contemporary use means additional domestic processing of primary commodities, though it is a concept derived from national income accounting, which literally means the return to the factors land, labor, and capital employed (Mauldon, 1991). In general, the earnings from value added forms are about 2.5 times higher than that of bulk form. World is moving towards the value addition and Sri Lanka exports only 42% of teas as value added tea. This implies that the large quantity of tea is exported in bulk form and it could further reduce the market share. Further, because of uncompetitive definition adopted for value addition, even all the exports below 2kg pack size go as value added tea. On the other hand, the benefits from value addition are automatically goes to our competing countries that import our bulk or primary value added tea for value addition and re-export purposes. To retain those earnings within the country and to consolidate our position as leading tea exporter, the focus on value addition should be promoted among the tea exporters. The research study was carried out to ascertain the factors affecting the tea exporters' perception on value added decision and it is also aimed at finding out the gaps between responsible authorities for value addition like Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) and Export Development Board (EDB) and the tea exporters in the course of value addition.Item Analysis of Organic Products Supply Chain in Badulla District(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2012) Perera, S. A.P. M.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.Organic Agriculture in Sri Lanka has been gradually awakened and the role and participation of key organizations such as private sector organizations, non- government and government organizations have been strengthened. By 20 10, the organic cultivation covered over 43,664 hectares of land, which was I.7% of the total agricultural land in the country (FiBL- IFOAM survey, 2012).Although local marketing does not yet go through the Formal inspection and certification process, the production and processing for export involves a systematically organized formal inspection and certification which is carried out be internationally accredited certification bodies. There are number of non- government organizations, farmer organization, private- owned organic farms and export companies who are involving in the promotion of organic agriculture production and marketing in Badulla district. However, there is no any documented information source about the organic agriculture supply chain in the district. Developing and managing supply chains require an integrated approach in which all the stakeholders should collectively plan and control all the functions to achieve the sustainability. In this backdrop, it is a compulsory exercise to study the present status of the organic supply chain in the Badulla district and the present study aimed at examining the existing chain components, different interactions existed, the quality of the interactions and any problematic interfaces existing within the chain.Item Analyzing the Promotion of Local Healthy Fast Food through Hela Bojun Project(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019-02) Senarathna, M.K.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Amarakoon, A.M.C.; Dharmasena, A.W.T.The fast food industry in Sri Lanka has been expanding rapidly since it is convenient for busy life style and reduces the effort of preparing meals. Although fast food is very popular among community, people are aware of adverse impacts of fast food consumption such as overweight, obesity and non-communicable diseases. Having understood the changing lives styles, eating trends and associated problems the Department of Agriculture launched the “Hela Bojun” project. The main purpose of the Hela Bojun project is to promote local healthy fast food with a high nutritional values. In this context, this research was designed to examine the factors that affect on the consumption of local healthy fast foods through Hela Bojun outlets. The specific objective of the research was to study how value negotiation of product and overall satisfaction relate to the marketing mix elements influence customers to select Hela Bojun outlets. To accomplish the objectives, a semi-structured questionnaire was prepared and direct interviews were conducted with 150 customers who visited five selected Hela Bojun outlets. For data analysis, Chi-square test of independence was applied. The results revealed that occupation, supervision of the Department of Agriculture, peer influence and purchasing local healthy fast food for special occasions were significantly associated with frequency of visiting Hela Bojun fast food outlets. Furthermore, the multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the age, number of family members, distance to Hela Bojun outlet and value negotiation have a significant relationship with the frequency of visiting Hela Bojun fast food outlets. Moreover, it was revealed that the value negotiation influences significantly and positively on the selection decision of Hela Bojun outlets.Item Consumer Comprehension and Usage of Nutritional Labeling in Food Purchasing(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Amarakoon, A.M.C.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Dematawa, P.Consumer behavior in food market has been changed rapidly over time and as reported by Withanage and Jayasinghe (2010), Sri Lankan consumers have become more conscious of the nutrition, health, and quality of the food they eat; hence healthiness has become an important criterion for food purchases. Consumers are curious to search more information for the constituents of foods they consumed. Among many information sought by the consumers, nutritional information has become important as present day consumers keen to know about the wholesomeness of the food they consume. Identifying that, many of the manufacturers and marketers have been placing nutrition fact panel on packed foods. Though this nutritional labeling appears on the package, the utility of this information, in other word how consumers use this information has not been assessed. Hence this study examines the significant factors that affect on consumer comprehension and usage intention of nutrition labeling on food packages. Methodology A conceptual model was framed incorporating different labeling factors, product factors and background variables that affect on consumer comprehension and usage intention of nutrition labeling by expanding the theoretical framework used by Feunekesa et al. (2008) in their research of “Front-of-pack nutrition labelling: Testing effectiveness of different nutrition labelling formats front-of-pack in four European countries”. According to the above model, Consumer Usage Intention of Nutrition Labeling is a function of consumer friendliness towards nutritional labeling (e.g. comprehension, credibility and liking), perceived healthiness of the product and background variables (e.g. demographic factors, behavior and attitudes towards health, nutrition awareness, occasion of purchase and purchase motive). A structured questionnaire was developed based on the conceptual framework developed and pre-tested. Administering the questionnaire, primary data were collected from 150 super market consumers in Kandy and Colombo districts. Socio-demographic characteristics of the sample and usage intention of nutrition label in the different socio-demographic segments were analyzed applying descriptive statistics. Impact of the different factors affecting on the usage intentionof nutrition label was analyzed using multiple linear regression. Dependent variable in the model, consumer usage intention of nutrition labeling (Mean value of five point likert scale scores) was measured as the “Generalized Intention” method proposed by Francis et al. (2008). Independent variables (Table 1) were measured using most relevant assessment scales.Item Consumer Evaluation of Brand Extension with Reference on CIC Brand(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2012) Wanigasekara, P.G.G.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Weyhenage, S. P.The ever changing market characteristics give huge impact on corporate decisions. Hence the companies constantly develop new marketing strategies to stay ahead in the market and reap more benefits for their stakeholders. In fact introduction of new product is necessary for any companies to stay ahead with competition. As a solu1ion companies adopt brand extension strategy for increasing sales of the new product lines. Brand extension is a strategy adopt by companies having strong and establish brand names, as a means to enter in new product categories or classes (Aaker and Keller, I 992).Brand extension is one of the attractive growth strategies and it is low cost, low risk way to penetrate different target segments by utilizing establishes brands. Brand extension is widely used because of the fact that strongly positioned brand could build and communicate brand value successfully. Then the customers are motivated to do trail purchasing and averse the risk of new product. Brand extension strategy needs a careful analysis of the market before adopting, because it has both positive and negative consequences. Brand extension strategies tasted success in the past, still brand extension success is uncertain. Literature, showed a wider variety of determinants for consumer evaluation of brand extension. But there is no any empirical evidence under Sri Lankan context. Therefore this study was conducted to analyze how consumers evaluate brand extension in the Sri Lankan context. The specific objectives of this study are identifying the factors influence in consumer evaluation of brand extension and find out the association between above Factors with overall brand extension respectively. General objective is identifying the possible brand extensions for future success by incorporating CIC brand name.Item Consumer Willingness to Pay for Underutilized Vegetables in the Badulla District(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Karunarathna, L.B.D.S.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Amarakoon, A.M.C.Sri Lanka is one of the countries that consist of a wide range of plant species and they can be categorized as wild and domesticated plant species. Underutilized crops can be described as the domesticated plant species which have been eventually declined their importance for the society. The vegetable crops which are neither grown commercially in large scale nor traded widely termed as “underutilized” vegetable crops. Nowadays, consumers exhibit increased concern on the underutilized crops due to their medicinal properties, other health benefits, and nutritional values. However, prices of these underutilized vegetables at farmers’ markets and village fairs are low and unstable so that the sellers cannot maintain competitive prices and profit margin for underutilized vegetables. Therefore, this research was carried out to identify the consumer and marketing mix factors that may be influential on consumers’ willingness to pay for underutilized vegetables. To accomplish the objectives, a self-administered questionnaire was prepared and a survey was conducted with 200 customers who visited the village fair for purchasing vegetables in Badulla, Bandarawela, and Hali Ela divisional secretariat area in Badulla district. For data analysis, the ordered logit model was applied. The results of regression analysis revealed that consumer age, income, suffering from noncommunicable diseases by family members, number of children present in the family, attitude towards health benefits of foods, knowledge on health foods, and marketing mix factors were significantly associated with the consumer willingness to pay for underutilized vegetables. Furthermore, the marginal effects were calculated to reveal the probable impact of each significant independent variable on consumers’ levels of willingness to pay for underutilized vegetables. Keywords: Underutilized vegetables, Willingness to pay, Consumer factors, Marketing mix factors, Ordered logit modelItem Determination of Factors Affecting Pesticide Use Decision of Vegetable Farmers in Nuwara Eliya, Bandarawela and Welimada Area(Uva Wellassa University of Srilanka, 2011) Thennakoon, T.M.D.M.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Bandara, LayanthaSri Lanka has an area of 6.4 million hectares in which the agricultural area comprising 2.3 million hectares, out of which 20% is located in the up country wet zone of Sri Lanka. Over 64% of the population of the area is engaged in agriculture. Potato and exotic vegetables are the predominant crops grown in this part of the country throughout the year. The agricultural practice in the upcountry area of Sri Lanka is intensive and highly commercialized (Wijewardena, 2010). Hence, up country vegetable farmers use large amounts of pesticides to control the pests on their vegetable crops and to maximize output on limited acres of land (Sivayoganathan et al., 1995). Pesticides play a significant role in the modern agriculture due to easiness of application and quick results. As a result, demand for pesticide has also increased. Similarly, number of agrochemical companies involves in marketing and distributing of pesticides and the companies follow several product promotion techniques to stimulate farmers to buy their pesticides. But, agrochemical companies have inadequate knowledge about the factors affecting the pesticide use decision of the farmers. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting pesticide use decision of farmers. Knowledge on farmer's pesticide use decision is very important for the companies to select most appropriate promotion methods to stimulate the pesticide use decision.Item Determination of Main Factors Affecting Export of Ceylon Green Tea(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2012) Dematanpitiya, D.A.K.T.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Kahandawa, U.Tea sector plays a vital role in Sri Lankan economy being the third largest income source of the country. The word 'Ceylon' is normally associated with quality black tea while Green Ceylon Tea is less well known. Ceylon green tea exportation is only a I% of the quantity of black tea exports. Unfortunately, the country has not been able to capitalize its' royalty advantage in green tea market. Many tea importing countries impose tariff and non-tariff barriers for value added tea. Therefore market forces tend to promote more bulk tea exports than value added tea products. Sri Lanka exports both black tea and green tea as bulk tea. But green tea has high demand as well as high Free on Board (FOB) prices compared to the black tea. As an example, in the year 2010, green tea fetched a higher FOB price of Rs. 831.67 per kg while FOB price fetched by black tea was only Rs. 436.52 per Kg (Statistical tea bulletin, 2010). Therefore, exportation of green tea even as bulk is comparatively more profitable than exporting black tea as bulk tea. The main objective of this study was to determine main factors which affect green tea exportation.Item Determining the Willingness to Adopt Sustainable Rice Supply Chain Approach in Sri Lanka(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Kankanamge, P.K.D.K.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Amarakoon, A.M.C.Rice is the major staple diet of people in Sri Lanka and is the single most important crop occupying in Sri Lanka. Although it represented a major supply chain in the country there are many issues regarding the durability of the rice supply chain. Achieving sustainability supply chain practices is the best way to address those issues. For that, it is important to consider the willingness of each member in the supply chain. The main purpose of this study is to determine the willingness to adopt the sustainable rice supply chain approach in Sri Lanka. To accomplish the objective, a structured questionnaire was constructed and direct interviews were conducted with 100 farmers and 37 rice mills in Pollonaruwa and Hambanthota districts. For data analysis ordered logistic regression model was used and the marginal effects were calculated. The regression results revealed that the potential, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and technology acceptance have a significant relationship with the sustainability approach for the farmers’ practices. The regression-based on rice mills revealed that attitudes and perceived behavioural control are the most influencing factors that affect the willingness to adopt a sustainability approach. Keywords: Sustainability, Willingness, Rice Supply ChainItem Development of a Cassava (Manihot esculenta) Starch Flour based Noodle(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Missriya, M.N.F.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Bandara, S.M.I.P.G.; Rathnayaka, N.S.Wheat flour is used as the major gluten source for manufacturing of noodles. But, it is quite expensive and contains less nutritional value. It is important to reduce the dependency on imported wheat flour as a food raw material. Therefore, Sri Lankan food industry must focus on substitution of wheat flour with locally available food raw materials for commercial food manufacturing. Cassava (Manihotesculenta) is locally available root crop which gives higher yield during the period of harvesting. Cassava flour can be proposed as a substitute for wheat flour due to closely similar nutritional composition of cassava flour and wheat flour, relatively easy cultivation and high productivity of cassava which results lower price for cassava. This research is an attempt to develop a cassava starch flour based noodles while addressing the specific objectives of determination of the best ration of cassava flour to wheat flour to obtain preferred organoleptic characteristics of the final product, to determine the most suitable time period to steam the selected sample and to determine the chemical composition and to determine the shelf life of the products. Methodology The research was designed in three experiments in each according to complete randomized design. In the first experiment, the cassava flour based noodles product was developed after determination of the best ration of cassava and wheat flour from the five different treatments tested. Treatments were prepared incorporating cassava flour in levels 60% (A), 50% (B), 40% (C), 30% (D) and 20% (E) with wheat flour. The best ratio was determined by a sensory evaluation. The organoleptic properties of flavor, odor, texture, color and overall acceptability were evaluated in each treatment based on a five point hedonic scale. In the second experiment, the selected sample was dipped in 100 C boiling water for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5min to determine the best time period to steam the selected noodles product using a sensory evaluation by thirty semi-trained panelists based on a five point hedonic scale. Same sensory properties were evaluated as in the first experiment. Then, the sensory properties of the selected noodle were compared with control sample prepared only using wheat flour. In the third experiment, nutrient composition, microbial quality and shelf life analysis were done in the cassava flour based noodles developed according to the findings of the above experiments. Moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, total carbohydrate and total ash contents were determined in proximate analysis and gruel content was measured to analyze the chemical composition of the final product. Total plate count was calculated and shelf life analysis was done. Results and Discussion Analyzed statistical data of the first experiment revealed that Treatment D (incorporated with 30% cassava flour (D) occupies the outermost boundary for all the sensory attributes tested other than odor (Figure 1). There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the sensory attributes. Best selected noodle (30% cassava flour) has the higher preference than control in all the attributes other than textureItem Development of a fiber Rich Rice Based Biscuit(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2010) Fernando, P.A.T.; Thilakaratne, B.M.S.K.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Subodinee, A.A.M.Dietary fibre has demonstrated its benefits in health and disease prevention in medical nutrition therapy. The study was carried out to make utilize the Banana Blossom (BB) as a fibre source in developing a nutritionally enriched biscuits. The Blossom of Banana is an excellent source of crude fibre in the human diet. Dietary fibre promotes laxation, lowers blood glucose and cholesterol levels. The specific aim of this study is to develop a value added product with BB and rice flours in different blends. Banana Blossom was cut in to slices and dipped directly in to 20 g/I Citric acid solution for five minutes and dehydrated at 55 °C for 8 hours and pulverized. Resultant Banana Blossom Flour (BBF) was packed in Polyethylene and Polypropylene and was subjected to proximate analysis, to determine moisture absorption capacity and L' value and it was observed that the polyethylene is superior to polypropylene as a packing material to store the BBF. Banana Blossom Flour was used to supplement rice flour in percentages of 3,5,10 and 15 for biscuit production. Biscuits made of 15% coarse BBF and red rice flour with added ginger flavor were selected as the best treatment based on selected sensory attributes such as taste, color, texture and overall acceptability tested in the sensory evaluation. The best treatment was subjected to a proximate analysis and it was revealed that the crude fibre content of the selected biscuits was 12.32%. To analyze the shelf life of the selected formula, total colony count, yeast and mould count, moisture absorption capacity, acidity of the extracted fat were determined. According to the shelf life analysis, the developed product has a shelf life of three weeks without any added preservative. Aluminum foil laminated with high density polyethylene (HDPE) was evaluated as superior to polyethylene as a packing material for the developed biscuits. The fibre content of the developed product is far above the comparative products available in the market. Key words: Banana Blossom, Banana Blossom Flour, Dietary fibre, Biscuit, Rice, Shelf life, PolyethyleneItem Development of a Herbal Tea Beverage(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2012) Rathnayaka, A.M.A.B.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Aberathna, NareshAcross the globe, there are about 150 million people suffering from diabetes mellitus. Each of these people is at increased risk of developing a number of complications, each of which are associated with a reduction in quality of life and an increase in individual morbidity and mortality. However, despite these physiological implications, as well as the financial burden associated with the management of the disease, existing treatment options are costly, and have limited, palliative effects. One treatment that is emerging as a potential panacea for the management of diabetes is Masbedda (Gymnema sylvestre). The leaves are used in herbal medicine preparations. Herbal drinks have gained in popularity in recent years due to the health benefits. Today, ready to drink beverages products have huge demand in the export market. Because ready-to-drink tea is better than virtually every other packaged beverage for meeting the health and wellness requirements of consumers and the increasing desire for natural products combined with an obligatory convenience character. Although various herbal value added tea product are exported from Sri Lanka, still the availability of Ready-to-Drink herbal tea products for export market are not satisfactory. Therefore, tea exporters have to be involved in developing tea with herbs as value added products to earn more revenues in this competitive market. Therefore, this study was carried out to develop a ready to drink herbal tea beverage using Green tea with Masbedda, Cinnamon and Cardamom.Item Empirical Study to Compare the Costs and Benefits of Both Conventional(Non Organic) and Organic Pepper Production Systems in Matale District(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2010) Subasinghe, S.G.N.K.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Disna, A.P.P.World demand for organic pepper has increased and it has fetched the highest price than any value added products in this sector. Sri Lanka has started recently cultivation of organic pepper to cater this market and significant assistance has been given to expand the cultivation. Department of Export Agriculture and other related organizations have been working on promoting the organic pepper production mainly in Kandy and Matale districts. However, the rate of adoption of organic pepper cultivation is not that promising as expected so far. The study aims to compare the costs and benefits of both conventional (nonorganic) and organic pepper cultivation systems and to identify the factors that limit the farmers to shift into organic pepper production system. A field survey was carried out at the village Clodagh west GS division, situated in Abangagakoralaya A.G.A. division of Matale district. To accomplish the objective of the research few hypothesis were tested using T-Test, Chi Square and regression analysis. The P value derived in the T-test for the relationship between income per plant and method (organic or non organic) was 0.048 .Therefore there is relationship between income per plant and method. Mean value of the income in organic pepper is higher than non organic pepper. And the P value for the relationship between cost per plant and method was 0.003. Therefore there is relationship between cost per plant and method. Mean value of cost in the organic pepper is less than non organic pepper. According to regression analysis, income of organic cultivators is about 19 times higher than non organic cultivators and there is a positive relationship between yield per plant and income per plant. It was revealed that organic pepper cultivation is more profitable than the conventional pepper cultivation and also increased yield per plant has a significant positive effect on the income of farmers. Furthermore, several factors such as extension facilities, satisfaction on their own knowledge, cost in acquiring certification and support of the public sector were identified as priority needs of the farmers and those can be used to motivate the organic method. Moreover, the study findings strongly suggest to enhance the provision of credit facilities, better purchasing system, proper equipment usage and support of the government and private sector to motivate the organic pepper cultivation in order to achieve a higher income. Key words: Organic cultivation, Chi-squared test, Pepper cultivation, Regression analysisItem Evaluation of Tea Center Concept: A Study of Customer Satisfaction with Special Reference to Hayley's Plantation Sector(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019-02) Jayawardhana, M.P.A.T.N.; Maduwanthi, B.C.H.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Gamage, A.T.Tea Center concept is emerging in Sri Lankan tea industry as an innovative business model to attract new set of customers. However, in today’s competitive market attract new customers and retain them mainly depend on customer satisfaction. Therefore, this study examines what factors contributing to high level of customer satisfaction towards Tea centers while identify potential strategies to enhance customer satisfaction. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 300 respondents from Tea Centers of Hayley’s plantation sector and pre-tested, self-administrated structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Ordered logit regression analysis, Chi-square test and multiple response analysis were performed to obtain results. The results revealed that product quality, service quality and price fairness significantly affect to the customer satisfaction. Most influential reasons to attracted customers for tea centers are; to have best quality tea & to buy made tea product, higher potential to buy organic tea. Further, results revealed that most of the respondents are preferred to participate recreational activities, factory tour and tea tasting sessions. Marketers in tea centers can be used above identified potential strategies to capture the market while enhance the satisfaction of customers.Item Evaluation of the Performance of a Tea Broker Ware House(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2012) Bodikotuwa, P.P.B.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Mathangaweere, S.Tea auction system is an integral element of Tea supply chain where the Tea broker also plays a major role as the arbitrator between the buyers of Ceylon tea and manufacturers of Ceylon tea. Tea broker warehouse is an essential element for a broker as major operations of unloading of teas, sample drawing of tea, storage of teas and delivery of teas are done in the warehouse. Hence, the efficiency and quality of warehousing service are directly affecting to the performance of a broker. The study was intended to search for the major problems prevail in the Tea Broker warehouse with respect to its performance and quality of service. Identification of problems prevailing in the warehouse through continuous Observation and practical involvement in warehouse operations was done. Out of the identified problems the Major problems were identified through a Pareto analysis, which was conducted regarding the responses for the structured questionnaire provided to the employees of the warehouse. The identified Major problems were then analyzed for the Root causes using several Root cause analytical tools and techniques namely Casual factor charting, Ishikawa/ Fish bone diagram and Five why analysis. The major problems in the warehouse according to the Pareto analysis were, time taken for delivery of tea lots is very long , frequent claims for short weighed tea sacks, high relative humidity and high temperature inside the warehouse, Waste of teas during sample drawing. The major root causes identified for each problem were, the current procedure of directing the lorries to loading ends, The double deep racking system of the warehouse, The Make, Life time, lifting capacity and the rotational speed of the forklifts. The incapability of the digital scale to measure the sacks continuously, Scarcity of labour; lack of unloading points compared to the quantity of unloaded sacks per day, negligence and carelessness of the workers, Congested storage environment with tea lots stacked up to the ceiling level, Poor ventilation system, direct heavy sun light incidence onto walls from the morning till evening with no proper insulation system. Lack of proper supervision, lack of proper technical training for sample drawing and negligence of the sample drawer.Item Examining the Market Orientation of Vegetable Farmers in Uva Province, Sri Lanka(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Ekanayake, E.M.C.C.B.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Amarakoon, A.M.C.Sri Lanka has a long history of cultivating vegetables. There are two types of vegetables cultivating in Sri Lanka namely upcountry vegetables and low country vegetables which are varied according to agro-ecological adaptability. In the country, most of the small scale and medium scale farmers are involved in vegetable cultivation. The market orientation is the understanding of customers’ wants and needs and meeting them profitably. To become market-oriented, the vegetable farmers have to meet the customers and to be educated about their requirements. But practically there is less possibility for vegetable farmers to meet the buyers due to the number of intermediaries in the vegetable supply chain and farmers are rarely practicing direct marketing. In this context, there is a suspicion that whether the vegetable farmers have a proper understanding of customer requirements. Accordingly, this research was designed to identify the factors affecting the market orientation where the market orientation of vegetable farmers was measured using the MKTOR scale. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used in the study and 123 farmers from the upcountry and 141 farmers from the low country were randomly interviewed in their fields. Multiple linear regression was employed in data analysis. According to regression results, machinery availability, financial availability, attitudes towards market orientation, subjective norms about market orientation and the perceived behavioural control for market orientation significantly affected on the market orientation of upcountry vegetable farmers and land size of cultivation, attitude towards market orientation, subjective norms about market orientation and the perceived behavioural controls for market orientation significantly identified as factors affecting the market orientation of low country vegetable farmers in the Uva province. Keywords: Market orientation, Vegetable farmers, Attitudes, Subjective norms, Perceived behavioural controls, MKTOR scaleItem Factors Affecting Land Productivity of Proprietary Tea Estates in Badulla District(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) Aththanayake, A.M.M.B.; Amarathunga, M.K.S.L.D.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.The tea industry of Sri Lanka has made a significant contribution to the country's socio-economic status since its‟ history. The sustainability of the tea industry in Sri Lanka is at a critical juncture since it faces many challenges like the rising cost of production, declining productivity, shortage of labor, and climate changes. Proprietary Tea Estates are considered middle-level tea estates that may have a range of tea land extent between 10 to 50 acres (4 to 20 ha). The total land extent of proprietary holdings accounts for 14710 ha of land which is represented 6.6% of the total tea land extent of Sri Lanka. The main objective of this study was to identify the factors that affect the land productivity of proprietary tea estates in the Badulla district and to propose strategies to optimize the land productivity for its long-term sustainability. A conceptual framework and research methodology were developed according to the information gathered from focus group discussions held with key experts attached to public institutions and few proprietary holdings in the Badulla District. A cross- sectional survey using a pretested structured questionnaire was held for the collection of primary data. The stratified purposive sampling method was performed to select 33 proprietary tea estates in four tea inspector's ranges in the Badulla District. Secondary data were gathered. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the socio-economic factors of the estates. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the effect of independent variables on land productivity. 87.9% of the variance of land productivity was explained by the independent variables (P = 0.000, n = 33). The findings of this study concluded that although the proprietary tea estate owners were experienced with sound knowledge on recommended agricultural practices, the major constraints for improving land productivity of the estates are inadequate opportunities to access to formal extension services in order to get technical, input, and financial assistance on required time. Thus, this study would be useful for relevant authorities to implement strategies to optimize the land productivity of proprietary tea estates in the Badulla District. Keywords: Tea Industry, Proprietary Tea Estates, Land Productivity, Regression AnalysisItem Factors Affecting on Consumer Buying Behaviour in Fast Food Market: Theory of Planned Behavior Model(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Atapattu, A.M.N.D.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.Fast food restaurants are becoming widespread all over the world, both in developed and developing countries like Sri Lanka and there has been number of socio-economic and cultural factors that influence the fast food consumption. Increasing fast food intake, especially among younger generation has led to number of serious implications such as increased incidents of obesity and non-commutable diseases. Ashakiran and Deepthi (2012) reported that there is a trend of dramatic increase of the obesity and obesity associated serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers. Studying the fast food consumption behaviour of the consumers is very important to have interventions in promoting healthy eating behaviours. There are several comprehensive theories developed to study the consumer behaviour and among those the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is very popular model. The TPB posits that a person's behavioural intention is based upon three antecedents attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control (Azadbakht et al.,2013).Attitude signifies the degree to which a person has a favourable or unfavourable evaluation of the behaviour in question. The subjective norm summarizes the belief of other people concerning how the individual should behave in the situation and perceived behavioural control summarizes the factors, either internal or external that can help or hinder the performance of the behaviour. Accordingly TPB model was adopted in this research to study the fast food consumption behaviour of the consumers in three selected district of Sri Lanka. Methodology A Sample of 200 consumers who are in age between 15-40 years were recruited from 3 districts Kurunegala, Kandy and Badulla. Primary data were collected in a consumer survey carried out by interview with the aid of structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model (Figure 1) and it was pre-tested to check the reliability. First part of the questionnaire was included questions to obtained information about the demographic information of consumers. Second part of questionnaire was structured in such way to collect the information pertaining to the construct of the TPB variables attitude, perceived behavioural control, and subjective norm.Item Factors Affecting the Buying Intention of Ceylon Organic Tea by Foreign Consumers(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019-02) Kothalawala, V. A.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Kahandage, K.P.M.Changing food consumption patterns of consumers seem to be one of the big threats for living a healthy life. The conventional agriculture which uses chemicals and fertilizers ruin the environment and human being’s lifestyle. Therefore, the organic agriculture started booming up in many countries by taking the advantage of capturing the healthconscious consumer markets in providing organic foods for their daily intake. Being an attractive world tourist destination while knowing the best quality tea producer, Sri Lanka attempted to expand its markets since 1983. But the organic tea consumption of the local people in Sri Lanka become lesser than the organic tea consumption of the tourists’ who visit Sri Lanka annually. Therefore, this research focuses to identify the factors affecting the buying intention of Ceylon organic tea by foreign consumers. The first part of questionnaire covers customers’ demographic information and the second focuses on consumer knowledge, health consciousness, environmental concern, product attributes, perceived price, trust and perceived quality. Questionnaire survey was conducted and the data were collected from 100 respondents in two selected destinations of foreign tourists (Colombo and Ella area). The results obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression model. The findings of this study were identified the buying intention of foreign consumers in Sri Lanka towards Ceylon organic tea. It would assist practitioners, researchers and marketers to understand which factors are important to apply for their future research or business strategies.Item Factors Affecting the Market Penetration in the European Union (EU) Tea Market(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2012) Wisnagalage, N.N.; Mahindarathne, M.G.P.P.; Ganapathy, Chitty, M.Tea is one of the oldest and most popular beverages in the world. It is considered as the cheapest beverage after water. Sri Lanka is the largest orthodox black tea producer and exporter of the world and tea contributes significantly to the national economy of Sri Lanka. Increase of the revenue from tea is lower than the increase in cost of production rise. Therefore, market penetration was identified as a method to increase the demand for Ceylon tea and increase the revenue. Main Ceylon tea export destinations are Russia/CIS and Middle East regions, but a very low quantity of Ceylon tea is exported to EU region compared to other origin teas, so it is important to pay attention on EU market. Objective was to identify the significant factors on market penetration to EU tea market and suggest recommendations to overcome those constraints.