NICNET Based Agricultural Marketing Information ... - Agmarknet

National Informatics Centre Project Implementation Guidelines – AGMARKNET6. Agricultural Marketing Information System 2Marketing of agricultural products comprises different business activities, different flows ofproducts (called “marketing channel”) and different firms (called “middle man”) performingtwo main functions:Physical handling, storage, processing and transfer of goods as they movefrom producers to consumers – “operational efficiency”; andExchange and price setting processes in the market system – “pricingefficiency”As in all aspects of business, realising potential net gains of efficient marketing activitiesrequires technically sound analysis. Increasing competition and complexities in agriculturalmarketing will require more sophisticated analysis and understanding (InformationTechnology diffusion) in the future than what has been in the past.6.1 The availability of prompt and reliable market information about what is happening in themarket, what quantities are arriving and what prices are quoted for different commoditiesconsiderably improves the decision making capability of the farmers and strengthens theirbargaining power. At present, the information is disseminated through various media like radio,newspapers, blackboard display and public address system at Wholesale Market yards.Theinformation provided by these methods has a limited use and does not help much to the farmersin taking decisions in marketing of their produce. The farmers are also not able to know aboutthe prices prevailing in other markets, as the Market Committees are able to disseminateinformation mostly in respect of their own markets. The farmers are, therefore, left with noalternative but to dispose off their produce in the nearest market, even at uneconomic prices.Further, the market intelligence data are presently compiled in registers, which are difficult tomaintain. It is also difficult to analyse the voluminous information thus collected for makingdecision. Therefore, a need has been felt to improve the existing market information system by2 See also http://www.agmark.nic.inNIC-AGRID-AGMARKNET-PIG-001 Version 1.2 Release: 20/07/2004 Page 15 of 40