The marketing of products is a feature which distinguishes a modern farm producer from his ancestors, otherwise farm production is a centuries-old phenomenon. In the past, production was meant to satisfy domestic needs whereas farmers today produce mainly for commercial purposes.

One can distinguish developed countries from the developing ones by analyzing their marketing systems. Pakistan is blessed with rich natural resources, having immense potential for producing a wide range of commodities and there are indications that its agrarian economy is gradually becoming self-sufficient. The production results are quite encouraging yet we are trapped in a distribution system of commodities which is highly mismanaged.

Marketing of agricultural produce begins on farm, with the planning of production, to meet the specific market demands. Marketing also includes the timely supply of essential farm inputs to farmers at reasonable prices.

Efficient marketing system enables the farmer to move from subsistence / semi subsistence level to produce regularly for the market. With the passage of time, marketing also provides an incentive to farmer to grow farm produce for export purposes. This increases farmer’s income and country earns valuable foreign exchange to meet foreign expenses.

An efficient marketing system plays a dynamic role in stimulating output and consumption, the essentials of economic development. It also creates and activates new demand by improving and transferring farm products and by seeking and stimulating new customers and needs. As a consequence it guides farmers towards profitable production opportunities and encourages innovations and improvement in response to demand and price.

Regulated markets are a pre- requisite for creating an environment conducive for the farmers to produce for the market. We cannot ignore the fact that non- availability of easy and prompt market clearance facilities and needed marketing mechanism have left us behind in the agricultural development. Market committees are not performing their real functions. So, there is a need to reactivate these committees by giving opportunity to real representation of farming community.

The potential of Pakistan’s agriculture is much more than its existing status but the marketing inefficiencies like lack of quality market intelligence, insufficient infrastructure, exaggerated role of middlemen, adulteration, hoarding and profiteering, excessive rates of various services, collusion amongst traders to suppress prices, and mismanagement of input and output markets are the mentionable shortfalls which produce a small amount of marketable surplus. Meagre marketable surpluses of small farmers together with their weak financial position make it difficult for them to with hold the produce for better prices, while the remoteness from the organized markets generally influence farmer’s decision to sell locally at comparatively low prices.

It is estimated that producers of farm products in Pakistan get 65 per cent of the consumer price for their non- perishable commodities and 25 to 55 per cent for perishables. The role of middlemen acting as a link between producer and consumer is very complex and need in-depth analysis before concluding any results. He is the person who is providing many services to the farmers just for the sake of increasing his business volume. On one side, he is supposed to provide many social and economic services to the farmers and on the other hand, he is considered as the major source of exploiting the farmers.

It is assumed that middlemen are getting very high margins but their share can be justified by considering the provision of additional services and risks which they undertake at each stage. In such cases, the marketing structure for agricultural produce is not necessarily exploitative and inefficient.

It is very difficult to draw a line between the responsibilities of the middlemen and government in practical scenario of agricultural marketing because the middlemen are providing those services to the farming community which are considered to be the duty of the government like the provision of credit, over night stay in mandis, settlement of social disputes etc. We always try to minimize the role of middlemen which in return further increase the exploitation of the farmers.

So, in order to free farmers from the clutches of the middlemen, the government should ensure the timely supply of credit and information to lessen the extra interest burden otherwise imposed by the middlemen. The interests of the small farmers should also be safeguarded in context of direct procurement of the produce by the government, which will enable them to receive fair prices and will safeguard them against advance purchases made by the commission agents.

An efficient marketing system means the availability of quality inputs and outputs at desired place, in right time and in the suitable form which is impossible without a strong infrastructural support, transport arrangements (especially for the perishables) processing, grading and storage facilities.

There is generally a lack of these physical marketing facilities. The agricultural products have to be handled for a considerable time by various marketing agencies before reaching the ultimate consumer. Even, in case of less perishable commodities like food grains, it is estimated that the entire marketed surplus passes into the trade channel in two to three months.

Coupled with lack of suitable storage facilities for different types of commodities at all levels of marketing,is the non- availability of quality information on proper storage methods and on the principles of good storage management, which enhances the post harvest losses. Authentic market intelligence on regular basis is necessary for maintaining meaningful interaction between producers and consumers to ensure smooth and effective flow of agricultural products.

Every body in the market should have accurate information about demand, supply and market prices for all agricultural commodities. We do not have a very strong intelligence network due to which we see irregular trend in the market arrivals for many agricultural commodities at different times i.e. glut of one commodity at one time and shortage for the same at other time. So in order to put agricultural marketing system back on the right track, we must under take regular surveys for collecting information for all agricultural commodities.

Future challenges:

* Agricultural marketing which used to be a simple process in the past is now becoming highly specialized and complex. It is further complicated as the majority of the farmers are small, illiterate, unorganized, scattered and have very little time, knowledge and finance for marketing their produce. The farmers need to be educated in marketing activities by organizing training for farmers before the commencement of the marketing season.

*Adequate attention has not been paid so far for ensuring supply of adequate quantity of inputs at the right time. There is lack of check on the adulteration and under weighment of seed, fertilizers, weedicides and pesticides. Suitable mechanism is needed to ensure the supply of these inputs at reasonable prices and quality.

*Standardization, grading, storage and processing have been ignored so far. There are no laid down procedure for standardization and quality specification except for few major agricultural commodities. In the absence of brand names, the consumer is not sure of quality he will be getting which deprive of the farmers in fetching higher prices for their products. The agrarian economy is already facing almost 25-40 per cent post harvest losses due to poor cold storage facilities. So, in the era of consumerism, these activities of marketing need immediate improvement.

*A strong infrastructure is considered to be the primary requirement for ensuring efficient marketing. Though the market infrastructure has been developed in various districts but the concentration of development is more in the agriculturally advanced districts. There is still need and potential to replicate these facilities in other areas also.

*Market intelligence is needed by the government, traders, trading organizations, producers, consumers and researchers. And efficient system of market intelligence has an important role to play in the formulation of plans and policies by the government and their implementation, carrying out trading activities efficiently and enabling the producers and consumers to derive maximum advantages from a given situation of demand and supply. It is also necessary for keeping the close watch on the trends in the economy and taking corrective measures, whenever necessary. So there is need to provide reliable and timely market intelligence data especially when the commercialization of agriculture is underway.

*In 2005, under the WTO regime, we will be living in a totally free global market economy in which we will have to be very competitive. With the diversification of our farm products, we need to find out new avenues and strategies for marketing farm products. So, definitely in order to put our efforts in the right direction, we should undertake intensive research on various concerned issues. This responsibility can be assigned to agricultural marketing departments at federal and provincial levels and Agricultural University.

*In the age of information technology, we need to inter connect all our wholesale markets at the national and international levels by setting up computerized market information network. Feasibility of this project should also be prepared in order to increase the information horizon in the country.