Traditional Marketing
The Assam agriculture produce Act 1972 came into effect in 1977 when the state Agricultural Board was set up. The regulated markets (RMs) were established in different places in the state with market yards and facilities of storage go-downs, auction platforms, shops, bank and post office, parking place and drinking water supply. The MCs are responsible for actual
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implementation of the Act, with the Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board (ASAMB) head-quartered in Guwahati supervising the MCs. The state government appointed a chief executive officer of the Board with general control over employees of both ASAMB and the MCs. The MC levies market cess on all produce sold in the RM.
The ASAMB established 24 MCs, 20 Primary market yards, 204 sub-market yards and 848 rural primary markets. Some developments have taken place in traditional marketing in the recent past. To facilitate information flow the regulated markets are covered under AGMARKNET (see 5.9 in Chapter 5). According to the records there is one organic market, nineteen cold storages and a number of processing units in the state. Besides the ASAMB, the cooperative organizations namely North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd (NERAMAC) and STATFED along with the FCI are other major State or Central government agencies involved in agro-marketing.
Failures
The marketing scenario in the north-eastern states differs from other states in India and is not a success story. As is well documented, these states suffer from various geographical and socio-political difficulties along with economic backwardness. The markets tend to be more scattered and less organized in these areas and the state government has a greater role to play in regulating and developing markets. The paucity of marketable surplus which reduces arrivals in each market and makes trading in the designated markets unviable is a major problem. Thus even with Assam’s comparative strength in producing horticultural products, the potential for trading with other states remains unrealized under the constrained circumstances. State marketing agencies like ASAMB and NERAMAC have proved to be inadequate for the purpose.
By not allowing traders to buy from outside the market premises, the regulation came at a cost.
Besides, these natural problems, complaints of mal-practices do not spare the markets.
Formation of association by market functionaries to bargain against producers is reported.
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Infrastructure is also highly inadequate, leading to delays, congestion and cheating even while the area served by each market yard is inordinately high, adding to the troubles of marketing.
Thus it is not surprising that despite creation of limited facilities of Principal Market yards and Sub-Market yards, much of the transactions actual take place outside the precincts of the yards either at farm gate or at traders’ premises. Shifting of markets from traditional sites to regulated sites has not been fully effective even till date after so many years. Stalls are observed to be running along the sides of national and state highways in a congested and chaotic manner, despite having yards presumably equipped with infrastructure not far off. In the scattered scenario of marketing, most players remained beyond the reach of AGMARKNET, which covers only the MC offices. Market regulation is thus found to be highly incomplete and an imperfect story and the latest round of reforms could be a mile stone in the state.
Amendment and progress
The Assam APMC Act 1972 was amended in 2006 in accordance to the Model Act circulated in 2003. The Act relieves the markets of existing restrictions on storage, movements and transportation of products. The amended Act encourages and permits Private Marketing (PM), Direct Marketing (DM), Consumer-Farmer Market (CFM) and Contract Farming (CF). All specified agricultural produce may be sold in principal Market yard, sub-market yard, private market yard and other places. It will not be necessary to bring produce covered under CF to the market yards and the produce may be sold to the sponsor right from the farmer’s field.
Under the new law the Director issues registration for setting up yard for PM and CFM and have to give reason for any refusal of registration. Private purchase is possible for trading, export, and other value addition. The CFM can be established by developing infrastructure by any person or group of persons other than an MC for purchase to be made by consumer from the producer provided the purchase does not exceed a certain volumes. Similarly, the sponsor in CF
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will register with Deputy Commissioner of the district of farmer’s residence. Public Private Partnership (PPP) is also a concept implemented in the state after the amendment.
CF under PPP is spreading in a few districts of the state in commercial flowers, potato, and ginger. The Self Help Groups are growing orchid, anthurium commercially under buy back arrangement with flowers exporters. About 1500 hectares of land covering 3000 farmers growing horticultural crops is reported to be brought under CF. The ASAMB has decided to develop a single commodity market for banana in Darragiri and set up a terminal market in Kamrup district. Contract farming is also extended to high value rice cultivation. To make AGMARKNET effective, the Board has adopted a special scheme ‘ Krishi Bipanan Tathya Setu ‘ to link up producing area with wholesale market within and out side the state covered by AGMARKNET. However, marketing in Assam is still unorganized and reforms are at a stage of infancy though a there are signs of transitions apparent in the horizon today.
In the Traditional Market a large number of intermediaries consolidate the produce at the village market and reconsolidate 2-3 times before it reaches the final consumer but as noted earlier, the 1977 Act did not attain functional effectiveness of regulated marketing. Today DM is emerging to enable farmers to directly sell to consumer or miller/processor without having to go through the middleman and help bulk buyers to economise on transportation cost. The
buy-back arrangement of the CF has also gained momentum.