Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology

The Guntur Chilli Yard in Andhra Pradesh is one of the biggest places in Asia for trading chillies and is an important part of India's chilli value chain. To make the market more efficient, open, and profitable for farmers, the government has taken a number of steps in the past few years. These include the integration of the Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), the promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), the building of storage facilities, and support from agencies like the Spices Board. Even with these efforts, stakeholders are still having problems because of unequal access to markets and low levels of digital literacy. This study looks at how government programs and institutional support systems help the Guntur chilli trade grow and change. Structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from 120 chilli farmers and 10 experts connected to the Guntur Chilli Yard. Purposive sampling was used to choose respondents who were directly involved in growing and selling chilli. The research utilised Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to examine the interrelations among Government Initiatives (GI), Functional Support Mechanisms (FSMI), and Support for Growth and Market Integration (SGMI). The results showed that the model fit was good (SRMR = 0.079; RMSEA = 0.076; CFI = 0.996; TLI = 0.994). The results show that government programs help the Guntur chilli trade ecosystem work better, be more efficient, and be more integrated.