Issues and approaches for linking small vegetables growers to markets in Bihar: A policy brief

Abstract

This paper discusses the importance of markets to the rural people and strategy to achieve the remunerative price of their produced in order to reduce hunger and poverty as well as promoting health and nutrition in Bihar. This paper undertakes a situational analysis of existing marketing pattern, disposal pattern as well as expenses incurred while marketing of major vegetable crops in target district of Bihar based on five year average of data collected from traders , producers and consumers for the period from 2013-2018. Trend in arrivals and prices of major vegetables in the selected markets indicated that there was an increasing trend in arrivals and prices of different vegetables over different periods which might be because of the increase in general price level and increase in population. The major focused was on development of proper enterprise based policy for enhancing the livelihood security and creation of procurement centre in each production zones that would be act as added incentives to the vegetable growers. Therefore reliance type of organized retail market at public- private mode should be initiated as alternate channel for the marketing of vegetables and Gujarat kind of marketing model should be implemented for dairy products in which value addition should be initiated by the farmers.Linking small farmers to markets would only be possible through organized mandi /proper collection centre i.e. one centre for five villages should be established to assure the supply of vegetables in Bihar.