Marketing Aptitude: Central government organizations, which are involved in agricultural marketing

In India, there are several central government organizations, which are involved in agricultural marketing. Some of them are discussed below:-

a) Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP): – The CACP (formally known as Agricultural Prices Commission) established in 1965. It is a decentralized agency of the Government of India (GoI) to recommend Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) based on certain economic criteria. It motivates cultivators and farmers to adopt advanced and latest technology in order to get best possible utilization of resources and increase productivity. Its headquarters is at Delhi.

b) Food Corporation of India (FCI): – The FCI is a statutory body established in 1965 under the Food Corporations Act 1964 to purchase, store and distribute food grains. It procures food grains, mainly for the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and other welfare schemes of the Government e.g. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Mid-day meal, Integrated Child Development Service, Annapurna, etc. The FCI’s objectives are: –

• To provide farmers remunerative prices.
• To make food grains available at reasonable prices, particularly to vulnerable section of the society.
• To maintain buffer stocks as a measure of Food Security.
• To intervene in market for price stabilization.

c) Cotton Corporation of India (CCI): – The CCI is a nodal agency of Government of India (GoI), established in 1970 under the Companies Act 1956 for the trade, procurement and export of cotton. It is governed by Textile Policy 1985 issued by Ministry of Textiles Organization, Government of India (GoI). Its headquarters is at Mumbai, Maharashtra.

d) Jute Corporation of India (JCI): – The JCI was set up in 1971 as an official agency by the Government of India (GoI) with the aim to provide Minimum Support Price (MSP) to the jute farmers and also work as a helping hand in the raw jute sector. Its headquarters is at Kolkata, West Bengal.

e) Coffee Board of India: – It is an autonomous body, constituted under Section (4) of the Coffee Act, 1942 and functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. It focuses on research, extension, development, quality up-gradation, economic & market intelligence, external & internal promotion and labour welfare. The Board has a Central Coffee Research Institute at Balehonnur, Karnataka.

There are also specialized marketing bodies for rubber, tea, tobacco, spices, vegetables, etc.

Departments of Government of India (GoI) for the welfare of Indian farmers

For the growth and development of Agriculture, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (formerly known as Ministry of Agriculture) have established the following departments:

• Department of Agriculture, Co-operation and Farmers Welfare (DAC): – To promote farmer co-operative movements, the department was set up by the Government of India (GoI).
• Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE): – It was established in 1973 under the Ministry of Agriculture to coordinate and promote agricultural research & education in the country.  Additionally, this department manages the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries (DADF): -It came into existence on February 1, 1991. The DADF is responsible for matters relating to livestock production, preservation and protection from disease and improvement of stocks and dairy development, and also for matters relating to the Delhi Milk Scheme (DMS) and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). It also looks after all matters pertaining to fishing and fisheries, inland and marine.

Organizations under Department of Agriculture, Co-operation and Farmers Welfare (DAC):-

Following are the organizations deal with marketing under Department of Agriculture, Co-operation and Farmers Welfare (DAC):-

a) Small Farmers Agriculture-Business Consortium (SFAC), New Delhi

The Small Farmers Agriculture -Business Consortium (SFAC) was established in 1994 in New Delhi to identify and promote post-harvest processing/manufactures units in the public , private and cooperative sector. Its purpose is to link small farmers to technology as well as to the markets in association with private, corporate or cooperative sector and if necessary, by providing backward and forward linkages.

b) National Institute of Agriculture Marketing (NIAM), Jaipur

The National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) is a premier national level organization set up by the Government of India (GoI) on August 8, 1988 at Jaipur, Rajasthan to heighten the agricultural marketing system in India.  It is an autonomous body under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. It offers specialized training, research, consultancy, education and policy support in agricultural marketing in India and South East Asian countries. The institute is dedicated to the 5^th Prime Minister of India Mr. Chaudhary Charan Singh, from where it derives its full name, “Chaudhary Charan Singh National Institute of Agricultural Marketing”.

c) Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI), Faridabad

The Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) is an attached Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.  It was established at Faridabad, Haryana in 1935 to implement the agricultural marketing policies and programmes of the Union Government.

Objectives of National Institute of Agriculture Marketing (NIAM)

• To provide specialized training in various levels of personnel of organizations involved in agricultural marketing enterprises and services viz. State Agricultural Marketing Board (SAMB), Co-operative marketing, Commodity Boards, Input agencies, progressive farmers, traders, entrepreneurs.
• To conduct research on long term projects, policy formulation, prepare status papers, conduct case studies in specific to marketing problems of agriculture.
• To propose consultancy services on marketing policies, investment programmes and marketing development strategies to state and Central Departments, public-sector undertaking, co-operative, etc.

• To develop promising human resources by providing long term structured courses in agricultural marketing.
• To cover a wide information network in the country in agricultural marketing to evolve efficient, innovative and competitive marketing process.
• To study the rural marketing management and to examine in depth the principal and practice of market regulation as a development sector in the agricultural economy.
• To formulate objective criteria for selective development of physical markets and to evolve a practical tactic for the application of such criteria in their planning.

Functions of Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI)

• To promote standardization and grading of agricultural and allied produce under the Agricultural Produce (Grading & Marking) Act, 1937.
• To conduct market research, surveys and planning.
• To formulate Agricultural Marketing Reforms
• To create marketing research and information network scheme like AGMARKNET i.e. implemented by the DMI for electronic networking of agricultural produce wholesale markets in the country for collection and dissemination of price and market related information.
• To promote cold storages and cold chains to preserve perishable produce like fruits and vegetables.
• To construct and renovate rural godowns.
• To develop marketing infrastructure, grading and standardization.
• To offer training programmes in agricultural marketing.
• To expand the agricultural marketing by spreading all essential information to  the farmers, traders  and  consumers  about various  measures  taken for improvement of marketing system in India.