Tiruchengode Agricultural Producers Co.

operative Marketing Society

The Tiruchengode Agricultural Producers Co. operative Marketing Society
is a Co. operative Society governed by the Tamil Nadu Co. operative
Societies Act, 1983. The function of the petitioner Society includes the
marketing of the agricultural produce such as cotton, groundnut, gingerly,
castor seeds, coconuts etc., for fetching maximum fair price to the farmers.
The distribution of agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides,
agricultural implements etc., to the farmers and grant of loans to the farmers
on the pledge of produce are also the functions of the Society. The petitioner
Society employees more than 250 persons. Apart from regular employees,
contract employees are also engaged in loading and unloading operations.
Such persons are employed through contractors, as and when occasion
demands. These contract employees are paid on piece rate basis calculated
on the head load. They are paid at the end of every week and are free to
carry the load of any other persons like the wholesaler, trader or supplier of
agricultural products, who may require their services. They are not bound to
report for duty every day. Their services are summoned only when there are
loading and unloading operations. They are not on the pay rolls of the
petitioner Society. They are paid through the contractors.

It sells fertilizers, seeds and agricultural inputs through nine

centres
The Tiruchengode Agricultural Producers Cooperative Marketing Society
received ISO 9001:2000 certificate for providing excellent marketing,
processing, sale and financial services to farmers.
The society, which posted an annual turnover of Rs.148 crore in 2007-08, is
extending a wide range of services to the farmers in various parts of Salem,
Namakkal, and neighbouring districts. It has branches in Konganapuram and
Mallasamudram.
The Konganapuram branch of the society receives cotton from farmers from
different parts of the State.
The society sells fertilizers, seeds and agricultural inputs through nine
centres. It markets rice, groundnut oil and turmeric powder. It also procures
milk in a few parts and sells it to the public and Aavin, a release says.

The society is the only cooperative institution in this part of the State to
become the distributor for the Servo Lubricants of Indian Oil Corporation.
Apart from operating a gas agency, it also runs a fuel outlet.
A supermarket and a medical store are also run by the society.
It has also received a number of awards for best performance at the district,
State and national levels, the release adds.

Tamil Nadu Cooperative Marketing Federation

Tamil Nadu Cooperative Marketing Federation was started in the year 1959.
Tamil Nadu Cooperative Marketing Federation plays a vital role in the
distribution of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The Federation has 38
godowns with a total capacity of 28640 MTs and 15 rental godowns with a
total capacity of 4650 MTs. The Tamil Nadu Cooperative Marketing
Federation operates two cold storage plants in Chennai, one at Koyambedu
Wholesale Market complex with a capacity of 2500 MTs. and another at
Basin Bridge with 1350 MTs. capacity.
The Federation acts as an agent of National Agricultural Cooperative
Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) for undertaking support price
operations in Tamil Nadu. The Federation is also operating a fertilizer plant
at Pamani in Tiruvarur District.

Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Societies

The art of marketing is more difficult than the art of production and
hence it is not a matter of amateurs more especially so in the case of
agricultural produce. The marketing of farm products should be so
systematic, scientific and organized so as to enable the farmer to negotiate
square deal and get a fair share of value of his produce. For this purpose,
agricultural co-operative marketing societies are functioning at different
places in the district. Besides, providing marketing facilities, these societies
make arrangements for the supply of agricultural requisites and consumer
articles in the rural area.

There is the Punjab State Co-operative Supply and Marketing

Federation (MARKFED at the State level, wholesale societies at the district
level and marketing societies at the market level.
In 19774-75, there were 8 agricultural co-operative marketing
societies in the district, with a total membership of 9,000. These societies
marketed produce worth Rs 260 lakhs during the year.
In Bangladesh a much extended system of agricultural cooperatives
was organized. The marketing cooperatives, which are of the third level, are
concerned with four main activities - the marketing of agricultural produce
of all kinds, the marketing of semi-industrial products (handicrafts),
marketing of fisheries produce, and marketing of dairy products.
Agricultural villages form the base of this structure, whereby every fifteen
villagers make up a secondary level unit. All secondary level cooperatives
are organized into a third level cooperative. These cooperatives have made
significant achievements.
At the other end of the scale we have examples of marketing cooperatives,
which have been successful. In Jordan, the olive marketing cooperatives
have changed the farmers methods of cultivation. The farmer was obliged
to pick the olives carefully and in a selective manner, so as not to harm
them. The olives were transported directly to the oil press, without interim
storage. The farmer could step up production, but he was required to
supply better quality and cleaner produce. The produce was graded into
various quality levels, and this grading also increased the demand on the
part of the consumers. The cooperative also succeeded in influencing
prices. The cooperative led to an increase of the return to the farmer by 1%
over the market price, with customers being on the look out for the
cooperatives olive oil, as they were confident of its quality.
The carob marketing societies in Cyprus have also been successful, and so
have other marketing societies. Among the reasons for this success we
may note the fact that the farmer was more exploited in the past. The
marketing cooperative, on account of its size advantage, has attained lower
marketing costs than the private traders, on top of the high level of
management.
Another example is the agricultural marketing system in Algeria. This
system, which had been influenced by the socialist dogmas, which placed
the State above all. Is an example of severe failure in everything that
concerns marketing? The system has tailed in all that concerns transfer of
information, packing, transport and storage.