The Marketing Structure and Practices in the World of Agriculture

Agricultural marketing are the activities that is involved in the flow of goods and services from the producer to the final consumers.In another words, agricultural marketing is the is all the activities that is required to move a farm produce from the farmers (Producer) to the final consumers.

Marketing also includes the selling of farm inputs to farmers to purchasing of farm input e.g, seeds, fertilizers, and disposal of agricultural produce to the final consumers or users.

Importance of Agricultural Marketing

(i) Marketing helps to make products available throughout the year.

(ii) It creates employment for many people.

(iii) It ensures good research into the product that the consumer loves.

(iv) It helps in the determination of price.

(v) It helps to locate where there are surpluses of produce and brings them to where they are shortages.

(vi) It helps to know the taste of a particular location.

(vii) It generate revenue to the government through exportation.

Channels of Agricultural Marketing

Channels of agricultural marketing refers to all the linkages ways through which the farm products passes to get to the final consumers.These marketing channels includes:

(i) The local market:- A market is the place where sellers and buyer have contact. Sellers brings his farm produce to the market and sell to the buyers.

(ii) Cooperative Societies:- They buy the market in large quantities to make it available to their members and other consumers at a reduced price.

(iii) Middlemen:- The middlemen are like wholesalers and retailers that form a link which buys goods from the producer and sell to the consumers.

(iv) Commissioned agents:- These agents buy goods from peasant farmers and sell to exporters.

(v) Exporters:- Exporters buy produce from commissioned agents and they export the produce to people outside the country.

Functions of Stages of Agricultural Marketing

The stages that is involved in the marketing of farm produce includes:

(i) Farm level Processing: This is the local of the farm produce immediately after the harvest and ready for sale.

(ii) Grading or Sorting: This involves the grading of the farm produce and grouping them into various weight and size for easy handling.

(iii) Packaging:- This is the packing of produce into various packs in readiness for sales directly. The packaging materials may be sacks,drums etc.

(iv) Storage or Warehousing:- This is the storage of goods before the sale or exporting them.

(v) Transportation:- This involves the moving of farm produce from the producer to the final consumers.

(vi) Advertisement:- This is the making of the produce known to people through radio, newspaper, television etc.

(vii) Merchandizing:- This is the export of the farm produce through ports to the other countries.

How Agricultural Marketing can be Encouraged

Marketing may be encouraged through the following:

(i) Provision of good roads

(ii) Provision of Capital

(iii) Provision of good marketing research

(iv) Provision of standard unit of measurements

(v) Good government policies should be established

(vi) There should be provision of adequate market infrastructures.

Agents of Agricultural Marketing

Agents of marketing are those people and other bodies that the farm produce passes either directly or indirectly.These types of agents includes;

(i) Marketing/Commodity Boards

(ii) Producers/ Farmers

(iii) Cooperative Societies

(iv) Wholesalers or distributors

(v) Individual or middlemen

(vi) Retailers 

Marketing Boards

These are the public corporations that is set up by government to handle the sales of agricultural produce.

Advantages of Marketing Boards

(i) It helps the farmers to transport produce

(ii) Marketing boards advises the farmers and encourages the farmers to heed to the modern farming techniques.

(iii) This board provides capital to the farmers to enlarge their farm.

(iv) The boards stabilise the price of the farm produce 

Disadvantage of Marketing Boards 

(i) The capital is very expensive.

(ii) Government intrudes with the affairs of the boards.

Cooperative Societies

According to its name 'cooperative' This is the process where the member of the society cooperates and pool their resources together with motive of making profits.

Characteristics of Cooperative Societies

(i) All members of the society have equal right since each member has one vote.

(ii) Membership is voluntary.

(iii) The dividend are shared to the level of the financial contribution of individual.

(iv) Each member has equal rights in the participation of society management.

Advantages of Cooperative Societies

(I) They grant the members loan.

(ii) They provide the storage  facilities for members 

(iii) They are very closed to the producer.

(iv) They sell in a reduced price for their member.

(v) They provides the transportation services for members.

Disadvantages of Cooperative Societies

(i) It doesn't allow the individual enterprise.

(ii) Cooperative society can easily embezzle money by the head.

(iii) It is prone to poor management due to unqualified too executives that is handing the cooperative sociey.

Individual /Private Middlemen

Some individual do go to directly to the producer or the farm directly to buy at cheap price.

Advantages of Private Middlemen

(I) They may give producer a loan

(ii) They assemble and repack some certain goods.

(iii) They link the producer to consumers.

(iv) They assist in the even distribution of produce.

(v) They transport farm produce from the farm to the market.

(vi) They provide good storage facilities.

Disadvantage of Middlemen

(i) They made dark produce scarce artificially.

(ii) They inflate the price of goods .

Producers or Farmers

These are the people that produces the goods and are also involved in the agricultural marketing.

Advantages 

(i) The produce are sold to the consumer fresh 

(ii) Consumers get the price at very reduced rate.

(iii) The farmers get the full benefits if his hand work instantly.

Disadvantage of Producers

(i) He lacks transport facilities

(ii) Farmers may face a great increased loss of goods.

(iii) It divert attention of farmers.

Wholesalers 

Wholesalers buy produce from the farmers in large quantities and sells in small quantities to the retailers.

Advantages of Wholesalers

(I) They buy in bulk and will be cheap.

(ii) They provides good storage facilities to buy the bulk goods

(iii) They have good transportation facilities

Disadvantage of Wholesalers

(I) They inflates the prices of the produce.

(ii) They create artificial scarcity of goods

(iii) Wholesalers exploit the retailers and sometimes producers.

Retailers

Retailers are those that buy from the Wholesalers and sell to the final consumers .

Advantages of Retailers

(i) They give goods in credit to consumers

(ii) They provides job for many people

(iii) They makes the produce readily available to the consumers.

Disadvantage of Retailers

(I) Retailers makes the good to be scarce artificially

(ii) They may inflates the price of the commodities

Problems of Agricultural Marketing

1. Inadequate transportation system

2. Small scale Production

3. Problems of middlemen

4. Perishability of produce

5. Small scale Production

6. Poor financing

7. Poor quality of produce

8. Inadequate research

9. Inadequate information

10. Inadequate storage facilities