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Agricultural Extension Services

Meaning :-

Agricultural Extension services or agricultural extension education is an informal

system of extending or imparting practical knowledge related to agricultural field which

helps in solving the agricultural problems.

The problem solving practical knowledge is imparted by the teacher or a group of

specialized teachers by discussions, question & answer way, by holding seminar, by

demons tration on a field or by group discussion between one or a group of students &

one or a group of teachers who are expert in various branches of knowledge concerning

agriculture, rural life & developments in agriculture & allied fields such as veterinary

science, animal husbandary, part plant pathology. .

Fruits of research from development countries in the field of agriculture reach

other countries quickly due to spread of extremely rapid means of transport &

communicating. Sprinkler system of water came to India from Israel, discovery of

Mexican wheat seeds of short variety helped to bring about Green (Wheat) revolution in

Punjab.

Agricultural Extension services also includes specialized knowledge about

different soils & their suitability for different agricultural crops, specialized knowledgeabout different fertilizers & their different composition & their use for different crops. The

aspect of extending specialized knowledge about various aspects of agricultural

production to Indian farmers is very important especially because majority of Indian

farmers are illiterate & generally deeply attached to conventional ways of agricultural

production. This task of imparting modern specialized agricultural knowledge to Indian

farmers is a difficult task because there are more than 5.5 lakh village in the country.

The community development programme was introduced in our country in the

year 1952 in which an administrative system has been built up linking national & state

level research & educational institutions engaged in conducting research on different

aspect of agricultural sector on one hand & the farmer working on his farm on the other

hand.

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The person who works as a link between the farmer & the national & state level

institution is the village level worker or Gram sevak who comes to know about the new

problems regarding new hybrid seeds, unsuitability of the prescribed composition of

chemical fertilizer for soil or any other problems regarding diseases of the animals,

water production, pest control etc. The village level worker passes on these problems

as feed back to National level & state level research institutions where these problems

are studied & solutions are again passed back through different channels to the village

level worker.

Objective of Agricultural Extn Services :-

1) To keep various specialist connected with different aspects of

agriculture such as veterinary science, Animal husbandary, Agronomy,

plant pathology, Botany, Pest control etc. These specialists are

engaged in conducting research & village level worker helps in

imparting that advanced knowledge to the farmers by holding

seminars, group discussions, field demonstrations etc.

2) To impart to farmer useful & practical knowledge regarding agriculture,

animal husbandary, home science etc. all with a view to help farmers

to maximize production from land & animals.

3) To impart education to rural women in home science & agriculture.

4) To promote development of young boys & girls who are future adults

should be willing & research to innovate & adopt latest technology to

solve their day to day problems.

5) Teachers to work with farmers with a view to develop qualities of

leadership, co-operation with others, initiative & participation with

farming community.

6) To co-ordinate research that is going on in several branches

connected with agriculture & different aspects of rural life in

universities, agricultural colleges & agricultural department of state

Govt. with a view to make it more & more useful to the farmers.

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Agriculture Research Set-up

The existing set up for research comprises of the Indian Council for Agricultural

Research at the apex level and the constituent Agricultural Universities, Regional

Research Stations, Krishi Vigyan Kendras etc. at the subsequent levels. The main

objectives of the ICAR are :

1. To encourage and coordinate education and research in agriculture, animal

husbandry and fisheries and to help in the utilization of the results of the

research.

2. To act as a centre of dimension of research related to agriculture and animal

science.

3. Establishment and maintenance of a research and contact library.

4. To do all that is necessary for the achievement of the above stated objectives.

5. To provide advisory services in education research and mining in agriculture and

the related fields of science.

Research activities are being undertaken on various aspects like :

1. Management of the land related to the economics of cultivation, maintenance of

the quality of land s related to both the physical and biological properties of the

soil through the prevention of soil erosion, land degradation, moisture

conservation, appropriate fertilization etc.

2. Crop management involving the improved cultural and agronomic price like the

varietal selections, appropriate cropping patterns, crop production practices,

cultural and intercultural operations etc.

3. Proper water management including the conjunctive use of ground and surface

water percolation ponds, drop and the sprinkler irrigation systems, diversion

ditches, other water conservation techniques in dryland agriculture etc.

4. Horticultural development including the various management practices related to

penology, olericulture and floriculture like the issue culture techniques, use of

plastic in agriculture etc.

5. Inputs related to animal husbandry, fisheries and poultry management including

production, nutrition, disease management, fodder management etc.

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Research Station and Other Related Organization

National Research Institutes :

1. Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.

2. Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Barely, UP.

3. National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana.

Crop Science Institutes :

1. Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Orissa.

2. Vivekananda Hill Agricultural Research Laboratory, Almora, U.P.

3. National Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi.

4. Jute Agricultural Research Institute, Barrackpur, West Bengal.

5. Central Tohacco Research Institute, Rajahmundri, Andhra Pradesh.

6. Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

7. Indian Sugarcane Research Institute, Lucknow, U.P.

8. Central Cotton Research Institute, Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Agricultural Universities :

1. Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University, Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad.

2. Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam.

23. Rajendra Agricultural University, Pattna, Bihar.

4. Gujarat Agricultural University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

5. Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar, Haryana.

6. Himachal Agricultural University, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh.

7. University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka.

8. Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, M.P.

9. Kerala Agricultural University, Mannuty, Kerala.

10. Kokan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, Maharashtra.

11. Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra.

12. Jammu and Kashmir Uniersity of Agricultural Science and Technology.

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13. Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Bihar.

14. Narendra Dev University of Agriculture, and Technology, Faizabad, U.P.

15. Bidhan Chand Agricultural University, Michanpur, West Begal.

16. Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pant Nagar U.P.

17. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coinbatone, Tamil Nadu.

18. Chandrashekar Azad Agricultural University and Technology Kanpur. U.P.

19. Orissa Agricultural University, Technology, Bhuaneshwar, Orissa.

20. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab.

21. Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Rajastan.

22. Maratwada Agricultural University, Akola, Maharashtra.

23. Punjabrao Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, Maharashtra.

Hariticultural Crops Research Institute :

1. Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

2. Central Horticultural Crops Research Institute, Kasargod, Kerala.

3. Central Tkuber Crops Research Institute, Trivendrum, Kerala.

4. Indian Horticultural Research Institute, Bangalore, Karnataka.

5. Central Northern Zone Horticultural Research Institute, Lucknow, U.P.

6. Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute, Dehradun.

7. Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karual, Haryana.

8. Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

9. Central Rained Crops Research Institute, Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh.

10. North Eastern Hills I.C.A.R. Research Institute, Meghalaya.

11. Central Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair, Andaman.

12. Indian Soil Science Research Institute, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

Veterinary Institute :

1. Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Rajasthan.

2. Central Government Research Institute, Farah, U.P.

3. Central Bird Research Institute, Barelly, U.P.

4. Central Buffalo Research Institute, Hissar, Haryana.

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5. Central Animal Genetics Institute, Kerala, Haryana.

Agricultural Engineering Institutes :

1. Central Agricultural Engineering Institute, Bhopal, M.P.

2. Indian Lac Research Institute, Ranchi, Bihar.

3. Cotton Technology Research Institute, Matunga, Bombay.

4. Jute Technology Research Laboratory, Calcutta, West Bengal.

Fisheries Institutes :

1. Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpur, West Bengal.

2. Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin, Kerala.

3. Central Fisheries Technology Institute, Cochin, Kerala.

4. Central Fisheries Education Institute, Bombay.

5. Central Saline Aquatic Science Institute, Madras.

6. Central Non Saline Aquatic Research Institute, Bhuhaneshwar, Orissa.

Economics and Statistics Institutes :

1. Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi.

2. Indian Agricultural Economics Institute, Pusa, New Delhi.

Research Management :

1. National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hydeerabad, Andhra

Pradesh.

2. National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur, Maharashtra.

3. National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Allahabad, U.P.

4. National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources and Animal Genetics Institute,

Karal, Haryana.

National Research Stations :

1. Nationa Groundnut Research Station, Junagarh, Gujarat.

2. National Mushroom Research Institute, and Training Centre, Solan, H.P.

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3. Black Soil Research Station, Bikaner, Rajasthan.

4. National Horse Research Station, Hissar, Haryana.

5. National Yak Research Station, Purva, Nagaland.

7. National Insemination Research Station, Purva, Nagaland.

The Extension Set-up : (The Training and Visit System)

The extension of the valid research being done in the field of agriculture is

disseminated mainly through the training and visit system comprising of the Village

Extension Workers at the grass root level the Agricultural Extension Officers, the Sub-

divisional Extension Officer, the District Extension Officer, the Zonal Extension Offier

and the Director of Extension as the coordinating agency at the top. The organizational

set-up is as follows :

Depending on the number of farmer families, Village Extension Workers have

been assigned to specific areas. The main responsibility of the NEW is to visit regularly

each of the farmers groups within his area of jurisdiction and to teach and to convince

the farmers to utilize the recommended practices, monitor the price and availability of

the various inputs and the prevailing market conditions and then to correspond the

farmers response to his superiors or the agricultural extension officers. For the purpose

of dissemination of information the VEW selects certain contact farmer on the basis of

their being progressive and having a large social network.

Sir to eight Village Extension Workers, are then supervised by an Agricultural

Extension Officer who also provides the technical inputs. The two main functions of the

ABOs are to review and assist in the organizational aspects of the VEWs, to provide

technical support to them and to solve the problems faced by the VEWs in the field.

The Sub-divisional extension officer then supervises about six to eight

Agricultural Extension Officers and is charge of the extension programmes in the area.

The SDEO is assisted in his functioning by a few Subject Matter Specialists.

Four to Eight SDEOs are supervised by the District Extension Officer. At the top

is the Zonal Extension Officer who is responsible for the smooth functioning of all the

extension programmes in the different districts that constitute the Zone. The ZEOs

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come under the preview of the Director of Extension at the state level and finally under

the Director of Agriculture at the Administrative level.

Training of the Extension Workers :

Training to the extension workers include the technical knowledge as well as

training related to how to extend the particular information. Training may be the pre-

service training which is the formal training ex. Two year training course of the village

level workers at the Gram Sevaks Training Centres or a full fledged college education in

agriculture or in the service training given to the extension officers of the various

categories in the new techniques developed after their employment.

Institutions of Training :

1. National Institute of Community Development, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. (For

the Collectors, Deputy Directors, Joint Directors, Deputy Registrars of Co-

operatives etc.)

2. Income of Directors at Dehradun. (For the Principals of the Village Level Worker

Training Centres and the Trainers of the Orientation and the Study Centres.)

3. Orientation and the Study Centres. (They are 11 in number and are mainly for

the Block Development Officers, A gricultural Officers and the representatives of

the Zilla Parishads etc.)

4. Social Education Organisers Training Centres located at Ranchi, Bihar;

Gandhigram, Madurai; Samiala, Baroda; Belurmath, Bengal; Niokheri, Haryana;

Kasturbagram, M.P; Gargoti, Maharashtra; Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu; Lucknow,

U.P. Bhubaneshwar, Orissa.

5. Co-operative Officers Training Centres. (Eight such Centres are located at

Kalyani, Bengal; Himayat Sagar, Hyderabad; Panwadi, Bhavanagar, Tirupati,

Andhra Pradesh, Patiala, Punjab; Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh; Gopalpur Ganjam ;

Kota, Rajasthan.)

6. Health Orientation Training Centres (Najabghar, Delhi; Poonamalli, Tamil Nadu;

Singur, Bengal.)

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7. Gram Sevak Training Centres (Andhra Pradesh : 8, Assam : 5, Bihar : 4,

Maharashtra : 9, Gujarat : 5, Himachal Pradesh : 1, Jammu and Kashmir : 1, M/P

: 7 T.N. : 7, Karnataka : 5, Orissa : 5, Punjab : 4, Rajasthan : 5, U.P. : 24 Bengal :

4)

8. Lady Village Level Workers Training Centres (There are 45 such centres i.e. 3 in

the North, 12 in the Central zone, 9 in the West, 9 in the East and 13 in the

South.)

The Research Extension Linkage : (The Lab in Land Programme) :

The extension and research activities are closely inter-related as the extension

requires the findings of research to disseminate to the farmers and it is the feedback of

the extension workers regarding the problems faced in the implementation of new

findings and the problems faced by the farmers requiring immediate attention, which

forms the basis of further research.

The monthly working is the main venue of the training of the subject matter

specialists to build up technical skills regularly in the field of specialization and in

effectively meet the actual technical requirements of the farmers. The researchers and

the SMSs discuss and formulate relevant production recommendations for imparting

subsequently to the VEWs and the AEOs. Monthly workings are normally held at the

district levels.

The fortnightly training is the means of continuously upgrading and updating the

professional skills of the VEWs and the AEOs which comprises of a one day training

every fortnight. The VEWs and the AEOs review the farmers reaction to the new

practices, the problems faced in the implementations and are taught the newer

practices for dissemination to the farmers in the coming weeks. These raining

programmes are organized by the Sub Divisional Extension Officer.

Thus, an effective improvements will be possible in the agricultural set up, unless

there is a close co-ordination between research and extension. The Lab to Land

Programme thus mainly comprised if the effective, dissemination of the various

laboratory research to the farmers fields and their effective implementation with a

continuous feedback to the laboratories or to the research centres where useful

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research can be further undertakes. This may be an improvement in the existing

technology or a new problem identified by the farmers. The main objectives are :

1. The transfer of new technologies directly by the scientists to the farmers.

2. Development of a strong feed back mechanism to enable the research stations to

identify the problems and needs of the farmers and to identify the constrains in

the adoption of a particular technology.

3. Improvement in the standard of living of farmers aimed at increasing the

productivity of firms, diversification of agricultural enterprises for additional

income, concentration on the economies of farming etc.

4. Involvement of the farmers, themselves in the research activities and the

introduction of simple and low cost technologies throughout the year.

5. Still development of the farmers, women and youth to better facilitate the

adoption of newer technologies through the organization of various training

programmes.

Training Programmes For Farmers :

1. Training in the Village :

Youth are trained in small clubs in the village itself on the adoption of improved

practices of cultivation, leadership qualities, project formulation etc.

2. District Level Training :

Demonstration-cum-training camps, short duration training courses, discussion

groups etc. are conducted at the district level for young and introduce farmers as

well as the farmers families including the women and youth.

3. Voluntary Organisations :

Short duration training courses and seminars are taken up by the national level

voluntary organizations which are also being provided with financial assistance

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by the Directorate of Extension to enable them to undertake programmer related

to agricultural production through their state and district level branches.

4. International Farm Youth Exchange Programmes :

The Directorate of Extension has been working in collaboration with international

organizations where in farming youth from the participating nations visit each

others countries and in the process can learn about the new technologies

prevalent elsewhere and the suitability for implementation at home.

5. Exchange of Farmers within the Country :

Evaluation and monitoring of the various extension programmes results in the

provision of a feedback of the relevant important information to the agencies concerned

about the impact of a particular programme in order to attain higher standards of

excellence through continuous improvements each time. Monitoring may be in relation

to the goal, content or the system.

Agro-Industries Management and Agricultural Extension :

For the effective management of any enterprise the determining factor proves to

be the knowledge and the access to current development in the area. As seen above,

there already exists a very effective system for the dissertation of the research findings

to the grass root level farmers through the intricate government network or

prising of the zonal extension officers, district extension officers, sub-divisional

extension officers and most important of all the village level workers who are the grass

root level functionaries. What is essential for any individual or organization involved in

Agri-business is to form an effective contact mechanism with the functionaries in the

extension link to have immediate access to all the revolutionary changes in technology

taking place in the field of agriculture related to mechanization, pest control, disease

management, water management, managerial techniques etc.

In addition to the tapping of the downward linkages, care should be taken to give

a useful feedback to the research institutions regarding the various problems in the

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implementation of a particular technology. Any difficulties in the production such as the

occurrence of some unidentifiable diseases etc. should also be communicated back to

the laboratories so that effective, useful and need based research can be undertaken.

The managers involved in the agribusiness can also participate in the various

training programmes being conducted by the Directorate of extension through the

voluntary organizations, exchange scienes etc. for an up gradation of the skills required

to implement advanced or the appropriate technology.

FORWARD INSTITUTIONAL LINKAGES TO AGRICULTURE :

Agriculture Marketing :

Agricultural marketing which forms the mainstay of the forward linkage to

agriculture comprises of several activities like grading, standardization, quality control,

storage, warehousing and processing besides the distribution channels comprising of

the wholesalers and retailers who are involved in the handling, selling and purchase of

the produce. The different approaches to the marketing that have been adopted are the

financial approach which can be divided into :

Exchange Functions : Buying and Selling

Physical Functions : Transportation, Storage and Warehousing

Facilitative Functions : Classification and grading financing,

market Information and risk bearing.

The institutional approach comprises of the nature and the character of various

middlemen and the related agencies and also the organization and the arrangement of

the marketing machinery.

The third is the commodity approach as the problem of marketing vary from

commodity to commodity on account of the seasonally, production, financer, storage,

handling, size of unit and the number and types of middlemen engaged for the various

commodities.

Agricultural Markets :

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The agricultural markets can be broadly divided into the wholesale markets, retail

markets and the terminal markets. The primary wholesale markets are owned by the

market committees, local bodies or the private individuals and are periodically field

wherein every shopkeeper has to pay a rent for the space occupies. In the secondary

wholesale markets, the bulk of the arrivals is from other markets. Here the transactions

are mainly between the wholesalers and the retailers and are situated at the district or

the taluka headquarters. The retail markets are owned by the retailers subject to

municipal control and are scattered all over the town or city. The terminal markets are

where the produce is finally disposed of directly to the consumers or processors or

assembled for export and possesses sufficient warehousing and storage facilities

covering a wide area extending over a state or two.

Institutional Linkages :

Agricultural marketing requires a large number of institutional linkages on

account of several special characteristics of agricultural produce, like the bulky nature in

terms of value as compared to manufactured goods, specialized storage and transport

facilities on account of the perish ability of the produce and also the fact that the

agricultural commodities are subjected to one or more forms of processing, thus

justifying the need for a large number of forward institutional linkage to marketing.

Institutional Linkages to Grading :

As the agricultural commodities depend on several factors like the climatic

conditions, still factors, cultivation techniques, management factors etc. grading which is

the process of dividing the same kind of goods into uniform groups according to certain

standards of size, shape, texture, degree of cleanliness, activity, chemical content,

length of fibre or a combination of several such characteristics and based on certain

standards, becomes extremely important so that the prices are fixed according to the

quality of the produce.

The Government of India enacted the Agricultural Produce. Grading and

Marketing act 1937and defines standards of quality, fixing the grade designation marks

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to scheduled agricultural produce, the grading being under AGMARK, authorizing the

Agricultural Marketing Officer to the Government of India, to grant the certificates to the

individuals or corporate bodies, who grade out mark the agricultural commodities on the

basis of the standards laid down by the Act. The specifications are arrived at alter

discussion with the producers themselves, merchants, exporters, etc. and also on the

analysis of the sample in order to ensure that the specifications are acceptable to both

the producers and the buyers alike under the prevailing market conditions. These

specifications are subject to periodic revisions based on the nature of production and

consumer demands. A network of AGMARK laboratories have been set up all over the

nation to facilitate the testing and the grading of several agricultural commodities.

Grading may be compulsory for export or voluntary for internal consumption. In

case of the compulsory grading for export, there exists the inspectorate for each

exportable commodity having their officers carrying out the regular checks alter which

the grade designation levels and seals are fixed internal grading is aimed at ensuring

purity and quality products to the consumers and remunerative prices to the consumers

and also facilitating the marketing practices at various stages. The export of agricultural

produce is facilitated though the compulsory grading through ensuring of the quality

produce in the importers, thus creating an enhanced demand.

Institutional Linkages to Quality Control :

Several institutions like the Export Inspection Council of India, the Indian

Standards Institution, the Indian Statistical Institute, the National Productivity Council,

the Indian Society for Quality Control and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade are

functioning to ensure the generation of awareness and the maintenance of quality.

Several legislative measures are also prevalent. The Prevention of Food Adulteration

Act, 1954 aims at the protection of the public from poisonous and harmful food and the

prevention of the sale of sub-standard foods. The Food Produces Control Order, 1953

ensures that all manufactured products confirm to the minimum standards in relation to

the quality, packing, marking, labeling and for the maintenance of proper hygienic and

sanitary conditions in the manufacturing premises. Analysis is done at the Central Food

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Technological Research Institutes on the basis of the samples sent in by the inspecting

officers, thus ensuring that the basic quality standards are adhered to. The Meat Food

Produces Order 1973 ensures quality through a mandatory provision for every person

involved in the business of manufacturing or packaging of meat products to obtain a

licence from the Agricultural Marketing Officer, thus maintaining the required quality.

The Vegetable Oil Products Control Order, 1947 wests powers in the Controller to

monitor the manufacture, and distribution of any variety of vegetable oil. The Packaged

Commodities Order, 1957 embodies a measure of self discipline on all the concerned

levels of trade and industry from the manufacturer to the retailer ensuring that the

consumers pay a fair price for the produce. The Export Act, 1973 requires that quality

control and pre-shipment inspection is necessary for practically all agricultural

commodities meant for export. The Government, through its various mechanisms is

thus providing a viable forward linkage towards quality control.

Institutional Linkages to Standardization :

Standardisation is the setting up of basic limits or grades in the form of

specifications to which the manufactured goods must confirm and the classes into which

the products of Agriculture may be sorted. The Indian Standards Institutions promotes

standardization and quality control through preparation of standards relating to the

products, commodities, materials and process and the promotion of their adoption,

coordination of the efforts of produces and users for the improvement of materials,

products, appliances, processes and methods, thus achieving variety reduction which

brings about the economics in production. Standards have been laid down for a variety

of commodities like food grains, fruits and vegetables, spices, oil seeds, essential oils,

fibres, animal products, irrigation facilities and agricultural inputs etc.

Institutional Linkages to Storage :

Agricultural produce being seasonal and perishable necessitates average by

means of which commodities are prevented from deterioration and surplus supplies are

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carried over for future consumption in periods of scarcity. Foodgrains may be stored for

an expected increase in price or for payments in kind to labour etc. Storage of fruits,

vegetable, fish, dairy products etc. become necessary to provide for their continuous

consumption.

The principal government agencies storing food grains in their own buffer stocks

are the Food Corporation of Indian and the Civil Supplies Department of the State

Governments. The FCI is responsible for foodgrain imports, buffer stocks, price

supports, inter-zonal movement, price distribution and some processing. The

foodgrains are stored in their own godowns or in rented space provided by the Central

Warehousing Corporations or the State Warehousing Corporations. Warehouses may

be special commodity warehouses like those for cotton, grain etc., or refrigerated

warehouses for perishables like fruits, vegetables, dairy etc.

The warehousing activity is therefore undertakes by the Central

Warehousing Corporation which confines its activities to terminal markets, marketing

centres, of all Indian importance and specialized storage like cold storage etc., the State

Corporation functioning at the marketing centres of regional and the state importance

and finally the co-operative societies below the sub-divisional level. The NCDC

provides active financial support for the setting up of storage and warehousing facilities

at various levels. The Cold Storage order, 1964 aims at ensuring the proper

refrigeration conditions and technical guidance for scientific

Preparation. In addition to the financing of cold storages, various incentives are also

being provided like concession in excise duty, subsidy in backward areas, etc.

The Central Warehousing Corporation is entrusted with the task of providing

godowns and warehouses in suitable places in India, running warehouses for storage

of agricultural produce, seeds, fertilizers, implements etc. offered by individuals, co-

operative societies and other institutions, acting as the agents of NCDC or the

Government for the purposes of purchase, sale, storage and the distribution of

agricultural produce, implements, seeds, fertilizers etc., arranging for facilities for the

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transport of agricultural produce to and from warehouses and subscribing to the shares

of the State Warehousing Corporations.

The State Warehousing Corporation are entrusted with the acquisition and

building of godowns in the state, run licensed warehouses, manage regulated markets

at centres to which the Corporations activities have been extended to do distribution

work as an agent of the Central and State Government or the Central Warehousing

Corporation and to subscribed to the share capital of co-operative societies concerned

with the storage or warehousing as their primary function.

Institutional Linkage Towards Pricing :

Several factors like the climatic conditions, seasonal production, variations in the

area under cultivation affecting the supply, policies of import and export, large number

of intermediaries, underdeveloped systems of storage and marketing etc. lead to wide

variations in the agricultural prices which affects the farmer adversely as the cost

structure is relatively rigid and the turnover in agriculture is comparatively low.

In order to bring about some sort of stabilization in the agricultural prices,

the Agricultural Price Commission has been announcing the minimum support prices,

procurement prices and issue prices for a number of agricultural commodities. The

minimum support, prices, are announced in advance to the sowing season in facilitate

second planting decisions wherein the Government purchases at fixed prices so that

even in cases of adverse conditions with a full in prices, the farmer is not affected.

The government maintains a control on the prices by the procurement of food

grains, import of food grains, creation of buffer stocks and increasing the domestic

production of food grains. The government procures the food grains through monopoly

procurement or through imposition of levy or purchase from the open market. The

procured grains are then solid at lower prices through the Public Distribution System or

the Fair Price Shops. When production is not sufficient, the Government imports the

food grains from abroad to prevent the prices from spiraling upwards. Buffers are

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maintained by storing the food grains in the years of high production for consumption in

the years of lower production. Government also tries to increase the economics of

domestic production through the introduction of high yielding varieties, provision of

irrigation facilities, various input subsidies etc.

Institutional Linkage Through Regulated Markets :

The objective of exercised some level of control over the various malpractices

prevalent in the agricultural markets like excessive market charges, short weights,

unauthorized deduction and allowances made by the commission agents, adulteration

of produce and the absence of any machinery to settle the disputes between sellers and

the buyers led to the establishment of regulated markets in India. The Government

action pertains to the formulation of a set of rules and regulations necessary to be

followed by all the market functionaries as also the evolution of an institutional structure

vested with the authority to see that the market functionaries obey the directives. A

market regulated through governmental intervention strives to create mutual trust and

confidence between the traders and cultivators, establish for trade policies and assure

them just and reasonable returns. A regulated market therefore privates facilities for

trading on an equitable basis, facilitates the settlement of disputes arising from the

trading activities and also provides ancillary facilities like godowns, communication,

transport etc. A market is therefore said to be regulated when the government

establishes a market under some enactment and frames the rules and regulations to

conduct the business thereon.

The regulated markets were initiated by the passing of the Berar Cotton and

Grain Markets Law, 1957 whose salient features were :

1. All existing markets came under its purview.

2. The resident authority could declare any additional markets or bazzers for the

sale of agricultural produce.

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3. A committee was to be constituted for enforcing the law.

4. The Committee was authorized to delegates its duties to a sub-committee or joint

committee.

5. Trade allowances were abolished.

6. Unauthorized markets were banned within the miles of the notified market.

7. Market functionaries were required to take out licences.

8. The resident authority was empowered to made rules for some specific matters.

9. Penalties for the breach of certain provisions of the law were laid down.

The Bombay Cotton Market Act, 1927 provided for :

1. The establishment of markets for ginned and unginned cotton.

2. The notification of a cotton market by the local government either after consulting

the local authorities as they deemed necessary or upon the representation made

by the district local board.

3. Constitution of a market committee as a body corporate for managing every

market to be established with a majority of the cotton growers representatives on

it.

4. The obligatory appointment of a disputes sub-committee.

5. The ban on any trade allowances not recognized under the rules or the bye-laws

framed under the act.

6. The levy of market fees.

7. Exercise of administrative control on the committees.

The Royal Commission on Agriculture, 1928 made the following

recommendations :

1. Regulated markets should be established in all the provinces of India in order to

facilitate the marketing of all types of agricultural product.

2 Products other than cotton should be brought under the purview of regulated

markets.

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3. Establishment of the marketing committees should be under a single all

prevailing provincial legislation.

4. Municipalities and market boards should be kept out of the management of these

markets.

5. The markets controlled by the local boards should automatically cease to

function after these regulated markets come into existence.

6. The initial expenditure on land and building incurred on starting such markets

should be net from a loan out of provincial revenues.

7. Half the members of the marketing committees should be from among cultivation

and may also include an officer of the Agricultural Department.

8. The market committee should see that is members are well informed about the

market conditions daily.

9. Provision should be made for a machinery settle disputes in the form of

panchayats or the board of arbitration.

10 Action should be taken to prevent the brokers in regulated markets from acting

adverse to the interests of both the buyers as well as the sellers.

Institutional Linkage for Export Promotion :

The exports of agricultural commodities has been of vital importance to thenation on account of various reasons like overcoming the adverse balance of paymentsituation, to meet the imports of industrial and capital goods and critical raw material, tomeet the shortages of food grains and petrol and petroleum products and mainly tocreate new markets for the serious agricultural produce.