Agricultural Market Infrastructure in Madhya Pradesh- Status and Potential

Abstract

  Through a field study of six agricultural produce marketing committees (APMC) across the state of Madhya Pradesh, the paper attempts to highlight a few important unaddressed issues related to the existing marketing infrastructure and argues that without interventions and investments in infrastructure in agricultural markets, the potential of the agriculture sector of the state cannot be fully harnessed. Though Madhya Pradesh has been a forerunner in the adoption of various agricultural marketing reforms and is steadily moving ahead after implementing a few key reforms, still a majority of these market yards lack modern infrastructure, function on old patterns and largely remain opaque and fragmented. The study recommends that these market yards need a fresh and professional approach, better governance and modern amenities like grading, standardisation, bagging and essaying facilities equipped with modern storage systems, including silos to facilitate farmers engage in smart marketing practices and earn better margins. Madhya Pradesh needs to integrate technology, institutions and infrastructure to keep in step with the changing needs of farmers, agriculture markets and customers and then only the reforms would yield results.