Agricultural marketing
Agricultural marketing covers the services involved in moving an
Agricultural marketing development
Efforts to develop agricultural marketing have, particularly in developing countries, intended to concentrate on a number of areas, specifically infrastructure development; information provision; training of farmers and traders in marketing and post-harvest issues; and support to the development of an appropriate policy environment. In the past, efforts were made to develop government-run marketing bodies but these have tended to become less prominent over the years.[1]
Agricultural market infrastructure
Efficient marketing infrastructure such as
Rural assembly markets are located in production areas and primarily serve as places where farmers can meet with traders to sell their products. These may be occasional (perhaps weekly) markets, such as haat bazaars in India and Nepal, or permanent.[2] Terminal wholesale markets are located in major metropolitan areas, where produce is finally channelled to consumers through trade between wholesalers and retailers, caterers, etc.[4] The characteristics of wholesale markets have changed considerably as retailing changes in response to urban growth, the increasing role of supermarkets and increased consumer spending capacity. These changes may require responses in the way in which traditional wholesale markets are organized and managed.[5]
Retail marketing systems in western countries have broadly evolved from traditional street markets through to the modern hypermarket or out-of-town shopping center. In developing countries, there remains scope to improve agricultural marketing by constructing new retail markets, despite the growth of supermarkets, although municipalities often view markets primarily as sources of revenue rather than infrastructure requiring development. Effective regulation of markets is essential. Inside a market, both hygiene rules and revenue collection activities have to be enforced. Of equal importance, however, is the maintenance of order outside the market. Licensed traders in a market will not be willing to cooperate in raising standards if they face competition from unlicensed operators outside who do not pay any of the costs involved in providing a proper service.[6]
Market information
Efficient
Marketing training
Farmers frequently consider marketing as being their major problem. However, while they are able to identify such problems as poor prices, lack of transport and high post-harvest losses, they are often poorly equipped to identify potential solutions. Successful marketing requires learning new skills, new techniques and new ways of obtaining information. Extension officers working with ministries of agriculture or NGOs are often well-trained in agricultural production techniques but usually lack knowledge of marketing or post-harvest handling.[10]
Enabling environments
Agricultural marketing needs to be conducted within a supportive policy, legal, institutional, macro-economic, infrastructural and bureaucratic environment. Traders and others are generally reluctant to make investments in an uncertain policy climate, such as those that restrict imports and exports or internal produce movement. Businesses have difficulty functioning when their trading activities are hampered by excessive bureaucracy. Inappropriate law can distort and reduce the efficiency of the market, increase the costs of doing business and retard the development of a competitive private sector. Poor support institutions, such as agricultural extension services, municipalities that operate markets inefficiently and inadequate export promotion bodies, can be particularly damaging. Poor roads increase the cost of doing business, reduce payments to farmers and increase prices to consumers. Finally, corruption can increase the transaction costs faced by those in the marketing chain.
Agricultural marketing support
Most governments have at some stage made efforts to promote agricultural marketing improvements. In the United States the
Several developing countries have established government-sponsored marketing or agribusiness units. South Africa, for example, started the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC),[11] as a response to the deregulation of the agriculture industry and closure of marketing boards in the country. India has the long-established National Institute of Agricultural Marketing. These are primarily research and policy organizations, but other agencies provide facilitating services for marketing channels, such as the provision of infrastructure, market information and documentation support. Examples from the Caribbean include the National Agricultural Marketing Development Corporation, [12] in Trinidad and Tobago and the New Guyana Marketing Corporation in Guyana.[13]
Recent developments
New marketing linkages between agribusiness, large retailers and farmers are gradually being developed, e.g. through contract farming, group marketing and other forms of collective action.[14]
Donors and NGOs are paying increasing attention to ways of promoting direct linkages between farmers and buyers
See also
References
- ISBN 978-92-5-101427-1.
- ^ a b Tracey-White, John (2003). "Planning and Designing Rural Markets". Rome: Food And Agrilculture Organization Of The United Nations.
- ^ Marocchino, Cecilia (2009). "A guide to upgrading rural agricultural retail markets" (PDF). Rome: Food And Agrilculture Organization Of The United Nations.
- ^ Tracey-White John. "Wholesale markets: Planning and Design Manual". Rome: FAO. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ Reardon T.; Timmer P.; Berdegue J. "The Rapid Rise of Supermarkets in Developing Countries: Induced Organizational, Institutional, and Technological Change in Agrifood Systems" (PDF). electronic Journal of Agricultural and Development Economics. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ Tracey-White, J (1995). "Retail markets planning guide". FAO, Rome.
- ^ Goyal, Aparajita (July 2010). "Information, Direct Access to Farmers, and Rural Market Performance in Central India".
- ^ Shepherd, Andrew W (1997). "Market information services – Theory and Practice" (PDF). FAO, Rome.
- ^ Shepherd, Andrew W (2000). "Understanding and Using Market Information" (PDF). FAO, Rome.
- ^ Dixie, Grahame (2007). "Horticultural Marketing, Marketing Extension Guide 5" (PDF). FAO, Rome.
- ^ "National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC)".
- ^ National Agricultural Marketing Development Corporation (NAMDEVCO)
- ^ "New Guyana Marketing Corporation".
- ^ Helen Markelova and Ruth Meinzen-Dick "Collective action and market access for smallholders: A summary of findings" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-16. Retrieved 2009-01-15. CAPRi/IFPRI 2007
- ^ Shepherd, Andrew W (2007). "Approaches to linking producers to markets" (PDF). FAO, Rome.
- ^ CTA and EAGC. "Structured grain trading systems in Africa" (PDF). CTA. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ Reardon, T., C.P. Timmer, C.B. Barrett, J. Berdegue. "The Rise of Supermarkets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 85 (5), December 2003: 1140-1146.
External links
- Esoko (TradeNet) market information service for West Africa
- Regional Agricultural Trade Intelligence Network for East Africa
- Agricultural and Food Marketing Association of Asia and the Pacific (AFMA)
- Rural Finance Investment and Learning Centre
- Marketing, Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, National Agricultural Library (NAL)