Government measures to improve agricultural

marketing system in India:

An efficient agricultural market may lead to increase in
efficiency of farmers and provide an incentive to produce more.
Following measures have been adopted by Government to
overcome the defects of agricultural marketing.
1. Establishment of Regulated markets:
Regulated markets are places where transactions are
governed by various rules and regulations. The market committees
consist of representatives of growers, traders and the government,
who look after functioning of these markets. These committees are
responsible for the enforcement of fair grading practices, licensing
of market functionaries, stopping the deduction of unauthorised
market charges, introduction of the open auction system of sales
and enforcement of standard weights and to secure impartial
arbitration in case of disputes. The markets provide yards,
godowns, sheds, etc. Reliable and up-to-date market news are
made available to the farmers. There are 7,161 regulated markets
in the country.
2. Private terminal markets:
Private parties are being permitted to set up terminal
markets for agricultural produce. These markets are being set up
by corporate, other private enterprises and cooperatives. The
facilities provided at the markets include electronic auction, cold
chain and logistics support from the primary collection centers
located at convenient places.
3. Provision for Storage and Warehousing facilities:
Improved storage performs the function of regulating supply
in relation to demand, stabilisation of prices and maintenance of
buffer stocks. A warehouse is a godown where goods are stored on
the journey from places of manufacture or consumption. Storage
and warehousing facilities for agricultural crops on commercial
basis are available both in the public and private sectors. The main
institutional agencies providing these facilities are the Central and
State Warehousing Corporations, the Food Corporation of India
and the Cooperatives.