C.3. Agriculture Marketing
Agricultural marketing primarily concerns with the buying and selling of agricultural products. It refers to all the activities, agencies and policies involved in the procurement of farm inputs by the farmers and the movement of agricultural produce from the farms to the consumers.
The Indian council of Agricultural Research includes three important functions involved in agricultural marketing, namely
- assembling (concentration)
- preparation for consumption (processing) and
- Distribution
According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report in 2019, out of the 93 million agricultural households in India, approximately 63% reported the sale of crops, of which 76% sold to local markets and only 7.2% sold to Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) markets, indicating a substantial proportion of the produce being sold outside of government markets.
- Furthermore, the report revealed that only 5.4% and 0.37% of agricultural households sold their produce to private processors and contract farming companies, respectively, highlighting the need for improving the marketing system to ensure better price realisation for agricultural commodities, which is a primary objective of building an efficient marketing system.
- The survey also indicates that 60% of agricultural households were satisfied with their sale outcomes, while 36% were dissatisfied due to receiving lower than market prices.