Agricultural Marketing Defects

• Defects of Agricultural Marketing in India:

 (1) Long chain of middlemen: There is a Long chain of middlemen like dalals, adatiyas, commission agents etc. between the primary producer and the ultimate consumer resulting in increasing marketing margin with the result that the farmer does not get a justifiable share of the price paid by the consumer. Of course, it is true that in the modern complex economic organization, the middlemen render

variables service in various capacities and hence cannot be dispensed with. As such, we do not want their abolition altogether but a reduction in their number and regulation of their dealing. The aim of better marketing is not necessarily to display any unit in the existing machinery but to enable it to function greater efficiency.

(2)Unauthorized and Arbitracy Deduction: Another important defect is that a large number of unauthorized, unjust and arbitrary deductions are made from the price agreed upon with the farmers. For example, deduction are made in the name of religious and charitable purpose like orphanage, Gow-shalas, hospitals etc. resulting in loss to the farmer. Deductions are also made for services of weighmen, unloading of cart water-bearers, sweepers etc.

(3)Delayed payment: Many times it so happens that payments to the farmer are not made immediately but after a period ranging from a fortnight to a month. If prompt payment is insisted upon, then it is made at a discount varying from 3 to 15 percent.

(4)Inadequate Storage and Warehousing Facilities: Storage facilities in the form of godowns and warehouses have been found to be very inadequate. As such the farmer cannot wait for better prices; he is compelled to sell the produce rather than take it back his village even when price are unfavorable. This creates a glut in the market which is to the disadvantage of the farmer. Besides, wherever storage facilities scientific. In many places, underground storage exposes the produce to white ant, rats and dampness. According to one estimate, about 10 to 20 percent of the agricultural produce gets destroyed because of defective storage. Thus, in the absence of adequate and proper storage facilities, the farmer are left with no option but to dispose off their produce at whatever price prevalent in the market at that time.

(5)Lack of Grading and Standardization:  Generally speaking, there is no grading and standardization of the products offered for sale. The buyers, therefore, have little confidence in the quality of the product. This proves to be a serious handicap in the marketing of such commodities with the result that the producers fail to get better prices for their products.
 Besides, there are certain unfair practices adopted by the farmers as well like adulteration; for example, water is sprinkled to increase the weight of certain products like ground nuts, vegetable etc; sometimes inferior quality wheat is mixed up with better quality wheat and so on. All these spoil the quality of the product, as a result the farmers do not get a fair price. Moreover, such practices adversely affect the reputation of our products abroad and hamper export promotion

(6) Inadequate Facilities for transport And Communication: inadequate transport facility is yet another bottleneck of sound marketing in India. Even after 50 years of planning, the condition of roads in rural areas leaves much to be desired. Most of the road are kuchcha road and are not cartable or motorable during monsoon. A number of villages virtually get cut off from the cities for nearly three to four months in a year. This difficulty is more pronounced in case of marketing of perishable products like vegetable, fruits, eggs, fish etc. likewise owing to poor communication facilities, information about market price and the trends there in seldom reaches the village in time. The lack of uptodate market information places the farmer at a great disadvantage.

(7) Farmer are Unorganised: In most of the cases, marketing of agricultural produce in India is done on an individual basis by a number of small farmers who are scattered and unorganized. One the other hand, traders who buy their products are fairly well organized. The result is that the bargaining capacities of the farmers prove to be very weak in relation to the traders who exploit them fully.