BEFORE describing marketing mechanism of non-farm rural products, it would be better if these products were to be identified. And while doing so, we have to see things in the context of rural development, as to which products other than farm products may be termed as non-farm products.
In general, non-farm products are synonymous with manufactured items. However, as economic terms, non-farm products, as opposed to farm products are those which after some sort of processing in small units in the rural areas, themselves become value-added and are traded at premium.
Such non-farm activities in rural areas include tobacco curing, small-scale oilseed crushing, tanning on cottage-scale, etc. Beside these, collection of milk, wool-shearing, dates-curing, primary processing of raw sugar (shakkar) and gur-making are non-farm activities and eventually become non-farm products. This sort of small-scale industry in the rural areas over a period of time has grown appreciably.
Marketing in rural areas: Unlike marketing in urban areas, a complex and multi-sectoral operation, marketing in rural areas is based on age-old traditional way of processing and distribution. The bulk of marketing function is usually performed by persons traditionally known as, ‘middlemen’ or ‘distributors’ and also called, whole sellers, retailers, or brokers. They include trader-cum-peasants in various ‘open markets’.
In some comparatively bigger rural areas where production of a particular commodity gets concentrated, a sort of a market develops on permanent basis. For instance, Kunnri, district Mirpurkhas (Sindh) is perhaps the largest chilis market in Pakistan.
Efficiency: In order to improve the working and the efficiency of such rural markets, efforts be made to revitalise them altogether. Their efficiency is much more important if one was to keep in mind that these are the markets with which farmers come in contact with directly and from which they earn their incomes.
The reason of their failure could be traced to their uni-sectoral nature and single-purpose approach. All of such programmes were based on the theory that it was the ignorance about the modern agricultural practices which was the basic cause of low production and consequently the rural poverty. In other words, these programmes remained production-oriented with little stress on marketing. They just failed to appreciate as to how the benefits of increased production could be made available to small farmers.
The integrated rural development programme (IRDP) was still yet another rural development effort. No doubt, it had some innovative features, like people’s participation in decision-making, planning and implementation through the branches of various nation-building departments at dispersed rural focal points. But even these arrangements failed to prove effective as these centres largely remained pre-occupied in the supply of various input items.
Inadequate facilities: It is due to insufficient facilities in the rural areas that farmers, particularly owners of small land holdings, have to sell their products at highly unfavourable prices.
The markets in the rural areas are still ungoverned by any legal framework. However, in the province of Punjab a concept of “Feeder Markets” has been translated into practice according to which certain rural markets have been linked with the adjacent regulated wholesale markets in the urban areas. In fact it is an exercise towards the revitalisation of rural market under a legal cover.
Non-farm products: Marketing mechanism of the non-farm products in the rural areas is not a problem like that of farm products. Selling non-farm products such as edible oils, oil cakes, raw sugar and gur, domestically processed fruits and vegetables such as chutney achar, murabba etc., curd date, hides and skin, animal bones, wool and hair as well as various items of inputs (such as seeds, pesticides etc.), take place mostly through ‘arhthis’ (commission agents).
The price fixation, in the case of farm produce, is mostly based on the open auction sale and the prices of non-farm products are mostly fixed by producers themselves. In some cases, price fixation is also done through bargain between buyers and sellers.
Suggestions: In view of the above problems, some suggestions are made for improving the marketing of non-farm products:
(1) Suitable varieties of fruits and vegetable may be evolved which are all exclusively meant for processing. (2) Facilities such as transportation, may be made available at cheaper rates in rural areas. (3) In order to end the dependency of non-farm products, it is proposed that separate walled markets be established exclusively for sale-purchase of non-farm products, in rural areas. (4) Non-farm product of greater value may be processed and produced in the rural areas. (5) A survey of non-farm products and an estimation of those which can be produced with advantage may be carried in prospective focal areas and pilot projects be prepared by qualified consultant, keeping in view the findings of the survey. (6) Non-farm products may not be taken for granted. Rather proper arrangement of the necessary items for the rural inhabitants like textile goods, electric and electronic appliances may also be made.
