The words ‘Total Disconnect’ may sound like the title of a David Baldachhi bestseller but they describe perfectly the present status of agriculture produce marketing in India. The winds of market economy have yet to have an impact on Indian agriculture. No wonder then that agriculture marketing is a convoluted maze comprising different segments, a host of government agencies, co-operatives, private traders, commissions agents, exporters, etc.

At one end of the maze is the farmer and at the other end, the consumer and it’s a case of ‘ne’er the twain shall meet’. As Limji Nanabhoy, director, Agri-Science (India), an agri-business firm, points out, “The producer or farmer has no clue whom he is producing for or what the end-consumer wants. The retailer sells what is supplied and the consumer too doesn’t stop to question where the produce is coming from or how it is grown and unquestioningly accepts whatever is available in the market.” For a marketing system to be effective it will have to bridge this gap, which, given the current scenario, is no mean task.

The men in the maze

For a recap of the current scenario, except for a few commodities whose prices are administered, most of the agricultural products are freely marketed. In the case of some essential commodities such as food grains and pulses, the government fixes a minimum support price in order to motivate farmers to cultivate them and also to protect farmers from cartels of traders. In case the prices fall to below the support price, the government makes arrangements for their purchase on state account. However, so far market reforms have been restricted to food grains.

There are several commodity boards, the Spices Board, Coconut Board, National Dairy Development Board, to name a few, which also help in marketing of commodities. Other agencies like the Agriculture and Processed Food Export Development Authority, Cashewnut Export Promotion Council, the Marine Export Development Authority, market Indian products in global markets. Then there are the co-operatives such as the National Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) that also market commodities. The marketing of such commodities is somewhat better organised and the producer and the consumer have some form of protection although there is no communication between the two.

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