Meddling by middleman: Agriculture produce marketing

     There are lots of public outcry, movement and speculation for rises of price of agriculture produce and other essential commodities in and around the World. People talks and consider spiralling price rise is also one of the negative factor for economic growth!

    It is said that poor and lower middle class people have to spend more than fifty percent of their earnings in procuring and purchasing of food stuffs so is less rooms for other expenditure for well being of a family.

     Have anybody ever looked into the matter who actually are the ultimate looser and benefited of such situation? Field and practical picture shows completely different and contrasting pictures.

     Take the case of farmers and growers who produces the agriculture produces; what it the share of their income?

   Farmers profits rupees three to four rupees per kilo gram of agriculture produce after nurturing three to four months whereas, a middleman earns eight to ten rupees within hour. Of course, this may vary according to types of crops and marketability.

    A vegetable farmer sales his Cauliflower for rupees thirty per kilo gram whereas, a middleman sales the same in rupees fifty per kilo grams. A poultry farmers sales his birds for rupees eighty per kilo gram whereas, a middleman sales for rupees one hundred and twenty per kilo gram of poultry bird. If this is the scenario then it would be nicer to be middleman than a primary producer.

  When a situation of price rise in agriculture produce and essential commodities happens, there is uproar in the streets and that finally settles in the parliament.

   Political pressure, public pressures compels finally the Government to tighten the situation and control the uprising for more people centric move. But, finally who gets that tightening? It is the farmers who are already tightened are tightened further.

   I remember, ITC has a model which is primary producer centric for facilitating the farmers to get the maximum from their produce. E-Chou pal is one such model that has been followed and implemented in some parts of the country.

     Finally, I would like to say that I am not against the middleman but my intention is farmers should get their share which at present is very abysmal.

   Government should bring out more regulatory mechanism for protecting the primary producers of the country otherwise agriculture sector which is yet to come out from the term subsistence will remain in the same.