Question:
Explain four measures taken by the government to improve agricultural marketing.
Answer:
The government has taken various steps for improving agricultural marketing system. These are:
- Establishment of Regulated Markets. Government has formed regulated markets to remove most of the evils of an unorganised market system. Functions of regulated markets are:
(i) Enforcement of standard weights.
(ii) Fixation of charges, fees, etc.
(iii) Settling of disputes among the operating parties in the market.
(iv) Prevention of uMawful deductions and control of wrong practices of middlemen.
(v) Providing reliable market information.
- Provision of Infrastructural Facilities. The government has taken measures to develop infrastructural facilities like roads, railways, warehouses, godowns, cold storages and processing units.
- Co-operative Market. Co-operative marketing is a measure to ensure a fair price to farmers. Member farmers sell their surplus to the co-operative society which substitutes collective bargaining in place of individual bargaining. It links rural credit farming marketing processes to the best advantage of the farmers.
- Important Instruments to Safeguard the Interests of Farmers. The Government has also developed some instruments to safeguard the interests of farmers. These instruments are:
(i) Fixation of Minimum Support Price (MSP)
(ii) Buffer Stock
(iii) Public Distribution System (PDS).
