*Asst. Director, National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, MANAGE, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 30
**Director (AE&C) (Retd.), National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, MANAGE, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-30
Online published on 12 February, 2015.
Agricultural Marketing in a broader sense is concerned with the marketing of farm products produced by farmers and of farm inputs required by them in the production of these products. Agriculture sector in Kurnool district is blessed with good resources. About three-fourths of the soils are black cotton soils with good moisture retention capacity. Crops like paddy, sunflower, Bengal gram, ground nut and red gram have good scope for further development. The district is developing in to an important seed production center. The research stations and agricultural college in the district are providing technology support for the growth of agricultural sector in the district. Irrigation sources are diversified and they are being further developed under the Jalayagnam program of the state government. In this atmosphere, one can hope for rapid growth in agricultural productivity. However, Marketing is one of the important aspects to the farming community. The economy of the farmers directly depends on market price which farmers get for their produce. In Kurnool district, there are 12 Market committees existing but few of them are catering to the marketing needs of farming community. It has 27 sub yards in the district.
The various problems that led to poor marketing of agricultural products in the district are fluctuations in agriculture prices and supplies (surpluses/scarcities), Conflicting interests of farmers, middlemen and consumers, under utilization and improper functioning of resources such as rural warehouses, market yards etc. Inadequate transportation, communication and information network, increased agricultural production leads to glut in the market and ultimately fall in price. Among these problems, communication plays a vital role in determining the success or failure of commercialization/marketing of the agricultural produce in rural India. At this juncture it becomes imperative to study and understand the local marketing constraints and opportunities to improve the marketing system suitable to that particular geographical area based on information collected by using participatory methodologies including Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA).
