Chapter No.7

Agricultural Marketing

Agricultural Marketing• It includes all those activities and directions,

which are necessary for the flow of agricultural goods from cultivator to consumer.

• It includes all business activities that direct the flow of goods from the farm producers to the consumers, so that they got them in time, right place and in the proper form they want and at the reasonable price they are prepared to pay for it.

Components of Agricultural Marketing

• Transport and communication• Processing• Storage• Standardization and Grading• Wholesaling and Retailing

Objectives of Agricultural Marketing

• Increase the profit of farmer• Provision of up to date information

about market• To stabilize the price level• Creates better and exportable standard

of goods• Best use of surplus production

Agricultural Marketing in Pakistan• Currently agricultural marketing is at poor stages• In Pakistan, agricultural marketing system inherits

various imperfections and inefficiencies which affect smooth operations and performance.

• Limited storage capacity, food crisis and poor cool chain network highlights imperfections and deficiencies in the agricultural marketing system

• Farmers have to sell the production at lower prices

Problems of Agricultural Marketing(A) Imperfect Market• Absence of latest information• Cob-web Fluctuation(Cob-web models

explain irregular fluctuations in prices and quantities that may appear in some markets).

• No Co-operation of Media• Improper Environment• Poverty of Farmers

Problems of Agricultural Marketing

(B) Agricultural Production• Collection of Products• Low quality of Products• Absence of Grading• No storage and ware houses

Problems of Agricultural Marketing

(C) Other Problems• Un-necessary role of Middlemen• Backward Transport and roads• Defective Weights and Measures• Illiteracy of Farmers

Measures to Improve Agricultural Marketing

• Establishment of New Markets• Standardization of Products• Market Information• Better Roads and Transportation• Remove the Illiteracy• Cooperative Marketing Societies• Agricultural Education

Measures to Improve Agricultural Marketing

• Standard Weights and Measures• Credit Facilities• Storage Facilities

Government and Agricultural Marketing

Market Committee• Main functions of Market Committee• Supervision of all the marketing activities• License is necessary to attached with market• Provision of wages to middlemen in settling

the disputes between parties• Established the exact weights and measures

PASSCO• Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services

Corporation – established in 1973 to remove the problems of agricultural marketing.

Objectives of PASSCO• Provisions of storage facilities by construction

of godowns• Ensure easy supply of agricultural inputs to the

farmers• Purchases the productivities from the farmer to

Government

AMSL

• Agricultural Marketing and Storage Limited.• Established in 1981 at federal level with

branches in all provincesFunctions• Eliminating the problems of perishable

agricultural commodities • Maintain the stability in market prices.

Exact Weights System

• Since January 1, 1997 the metric system of weights and measures has been introduced in all over the Pakistan.

• It is a better step to improve marketing.Advantages• Uniform system of weights• No loss of cultivator in selling and buying• Labor is authorized to check the weighs

Price Support Policy• Government of Pakistan, to purchase some

selected commodities adopts price support policy.

• If price of any commodity is diminishing a certain levels then Government purchase those goods at a ceiling price.

Objectives• Encouraged the farmer by giving reasonable

price• Helpful in producing surplus production

Market Information

• Government announces daily rates of productivities in different markets by newspaper and electronic media.

• It is also a good step to remove the problems of agricultural marketing.

Construction of Godowns

• Non-availability of cold storages and godowns in our country.

• The Government of Pakistan has constructed a lot of problems to store the productivities.

Advantages• Maintain the balance between demand and

supply• Increase the profit of cultivator

Grading Centers

• Government of Pakistan has established grading centers to remove the problems of agricultural marketing.

• These centers are established at Khirpur, Sukkur, Hyderabad, and Karachi.