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At
present, the chain for marketing of perishables is a long one with weak
links. The only way to improve it would be to cut it short, says Jaya
Mahale
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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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