Process that includes assembling, storage, processing, transportation, packaging coma grading, distribution of different agricultural commodities across the country. It includes the services involved in moving the agricultural products from farm to ultimate consumer.
Main problems
- Lack of storage facility
- Lack of effective transportation
- Lack of information among farmers
- Lack of adequate finance
- Manipulation by big traders
- Low waiting capacity of farmers
Measures taken to improve
- Regulated market (controlled market)
- Cooperative agriculture marketing societies
- MSP
- Subsidised transport
- Public distribution system
- Standardization and grading
- Infrastructural facility
- Expansion of market yards
Regulated market
to protect farmers from malpractices of Sellers and brokers
Infrastructural facility
to provide facilities like warehouses, roads coma cold storage.
Emerging alternative marketing channels
- Origin of Pharma market
- Alliance with National and multinational contracts
More problems
- Lack of output quality ( reasons)- poor quality of seeds, primitive methods of cultivation, lack of pest and disease control measures, dependence on erratic monsoon, deliberate adulteration and dumping.
- Long chains of intermediaries (middlemen), absence of grading (Though we have agricultural product act of 1937, AGMARK), Unethical practices( dalals & arhatiyas malpractices),Multiplicity of charges (commission, carriage and weight, extra charges),
- Lack of marketing facilities, debt obligations and distress sales.
For sustaining high levels of production in order to ensure food security in India , it is necessary to: target new areas of food grain production while promoting conservation agriculture in the high production areas to maintain current levels of productivity, use new technologies to break yield barriers, utilise inputs more efficiently and diversify to more sustainable and higher value cropping pattern, provide renumerative price to farmers, existence of a wide and effective marketing network for agricultural products.
Overview of agri marketing
Lively photo of former largely depends upon the price he receives, marketing office produce is the most important activity for a farmer.
Ways in which farmers dispose of their surplus produce: to sell to local money lender or trader, to sell in weekly village markets called hats, to sell in annual fair called melas ( longer holding capacity).
Functionaries in agri marketing
- Primary– producer, farmers, cultivators, pre-harvest contractors, merchants, transport agents.
- Secondary– financial agents coma processing agents
- Tertiary– commercial analysts, exporters, importers, shipping and insurance agents.
Function of agri marketing
- Concentration : collection of agro produce ready for sale in a Central place.
- Grading : segregation into different categories- variety, quality, size etc(helps in price fixation)
- Processing : farm produce are transformed into consumable products
- Warehousing : storing them,
- Packaging
- Distribution
Facilities needed for agri marketing
- Proper storage facility
- Adequate holding capacity
- Adequate and cheap transport facility
- Proper information system
- Less number of intermediaries
Government measures
Marketing services, development and strengthening of grading and standardization system setting up of regulated markets and strengthening of agricultural marketing system subsidies, organisation of cooperative marketing system setting up of special boards and organisations and councils, appointment of inter ministerial task force on agri marketing reforms. Task force recommended: promotion of direct marketing and contract farming Kama development of agri markets in private and cooperative sector, expansion of future trading to cover agricultural products, introduction of negotiable warehousing receipt system, marketing research and information network scheme.
Regulation of markets
- Create orderly and transparent marketing condition
- A need to develop about 27000 rural periodic markets
Cooperative marketing
Realising fair prices for farmers products, milk cooperative success.
Extra problems
Defective weights and scales, electricity and lack of unity among farmers, lack of financial resources, current policies of the Mandis, lack of awareness of the market, lack of standardization.