|
|
|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
|
|
|
NIAM plays a key role in agricultural marketing
|
|
Saturday, 30 December, 2006, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
|
Our Bureau, Mumbai
|
ing (NIAM), Jaipur, is a premier national level institute set up by the Government of India in August 1988 to offer specialised training, research, consultancy and education in agricultural marketing. NIAM is an autonomous body under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. It was set up as a registered society to cater to the needs of agricultural marketing personnel in India as well as from South East Asian countries. The Union Minister for Agriculture is the president of the General Body of NIAM.
The Institute has prepared agricultural marketing master plans for the development of agricultural marketing in a number of states. It is preparing project reports for setting up terminal markets in different states. NIAM conducts post-graduate programmes in agri-business management, agri-warehousing and cool chain management, which are very popular. The Institute has been imparting training to all its stakeholders. In tune with its mandate, the Institute has organised a number of training programmes on functional areas of agricultural marketing, viz., post-harvest management, planning and designing of markets, marketing infrastructure, quality assurance, exports, market led extension, commodity exchanges and futures tradings, warehousing and storage, among others. The Institute is also publishing a journal called 'WATS', covering different aspects of agricultural marketing.
Under the present dispensation, no exporter or processor can buy directly from the farmers, thereby discouraging processing and export of agri-products. Only the state governments can set up markets, thereby preventing the private sector from setting up markets and investing in marketing infrastructure.
NIAM has been entrusted with the task of sensitising the different stakeholders about the two schemes, viz., central sector scheme or the "Gramin Bhandaran Yojana" and the development/ strengthening of agricultural marketing infrastructure, grading and standardisation scheme. These two schemes have been taken up for publicity, awareness and training purposes and have led to storage capacity in the farm level as well as attracted investments of about one thousand units with an investment of Rs. 193 crore. Besides this, investment proposal worth Rs 158.47 lakh and about Rs 106 crore has also been under preparation to strengthen infrastructure in the state of Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Terminal markets
Initiative has also been taken by NIAM to promote Public Private Partnership (PPP) in establishment of state-of-the-art terminal markets for fruits, vegetables and other perishables in important urban centres to address problems of farmers. Terminal Markets have been exclusively promoted to improve marketing efficiency, reduce post harvest losses and foster competitiveness.
This is a modern innovative system aiming at shortening the long intermediary chain, creating competition, assuring quality and modernising operations with IT applications in the handling of fruits and vegetables.
The terminal markets will ensure transparency and offer various options of marketing to farmers in such a way that in the days to come it ensures higher returns to the grower-producers, enabling them to stay in agriculture.
Agricultural marketing
The main act responsible for market regulation is the Agricultural Produce Market Regulation Act being implemented by state governments. Now the marketing system of the country is serviced by a network of more than 7,500 regulated markets and about 28,000 rural primary markets, about 15 per cent of which are also regulated. The noble objectives of market regulation was to ensure correct weights, prompt payment to the farmers for their produce and avoid their exploitation by the hands of middlemen. However, these regulated markets have achieved limited success in the past, due to the different restrictions contained in the APMC Act and the Essential Commodities Act, prohibiting the free play of market forces. These markets have simply ended up as revenue generating agencies of state governments, pushing the interests of the farmers to the backburner. Thus the regulated marketing system of the country, originally billed as a panacea for all the ills of the farmers, leaves much to be desired.
Under the present dispensation, no exporter or processor can buy directly from the farmers, thereby discouraging processing and export of agri-products. Only the state governments can set up markets, thereby preventing the private sector in setting up markets and investing in marketing infrastructure. Furthermore, the increasing accent on liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation is both a challenge and an opportunity for farmers. However, in order to enable our farmers to reap the external opportunities, internal reforms in the agricultural marketing system of the country are inevitable. Today, the reforming states are Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra aiid Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep, and Chandigarh. The states with partial reforms include Karnataka, Haryana and Gujarat.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|