Marketing Efficiency of Major Horticultural Commodities in Coastal Districts of West Bengal

Abstract

The horticulture sector plays a significant role towards sustainable rural livelihoods in all farming systems including the marginal areas. The credibility of horticulture has been well established in improving productivity of land, generating employment, improving economic conditions of the farmers and entrepreneurs, enhancing exports and above all providing nutritional security to the people. Functioning of efficient marketing system is essential to increase the area under vegetables and to ensure remunerative prices to the primary producers. Prevailing marketing systems of vegetables are not well organized and the producers’ share in consumer rupee is substantially low. Agricultural marketing are now more liberated and private players have been allowed to participate actively and several innovations and alternative marketing systems are in place. This ongoing liberalization process and entry of private players to agricultural marketing have made the present study quite significant from the purview of strong opposition from within as well as opposition party in the state. The study endevoured to analyse the functioning of these innovations/organized retail marketing and whether there is any impact on marketing efficiency. 23. Whole system is operating under a vicious cycle like – large no of small producer - producing low marketable surplus – resulting low bargaining power and – low profit. Then these commodities passes to large no of small traders who are handling these produce in a small scale subjected to high degree of post harvest losses – ultimately resulting the whole marketing system a non-commercial venture.