Barriers to selling and marketing agricultural products and solutions
Hamid Larijani, faculty member of Islamic Azad University, Varamin Branch
- Content of this article
- Introduction
- Difficulties
- solutions
- Conclusion
Introduction
Agricultural marketing involves many planned operations and processes through which food reaches consumers from the farm. Marketing guarantees the survival of production and is as important as production itself. In fact, without knowing the market and not determining the target market, production will not make sense.
In summary, the main obstacles and problems in the marketing and sale of agricultural products can be described as follows:
1. A chain of intermediaries:
Many farmers leave their produce on the farm to intermediaries for a variety of reasons, including lack of financial resources to cover harvesting, packaging and transportation costs. In most cases, the product is transferred to the fruit fields of cities or provincial centers. There is also a group of brokers who collect the products needed by fruit shops, restaurants and exhibitors in the municipal squares. This chain of brokers not only increases the price sometimes up to three times the price paid to the farmer, but also the repayment sometimes takes several months and the farmer does not have enough motivation and financial capacity to cultivate next year.
- Lack of sufficient knowledge and facilities in the field of modern production, mechanization, packaging and marketing.
Generally, the executive work of production units is entrusted to migrant workers who have the lowest level of literacy. On the other hand, the main buyers in the markets do not have enough knowledge of the different cultivars of a product and usually do not differentiate between products in terms of quality and type of cultivar and packaging.
- Lack of proper insurance support
Agriculture, which loses its crop due to pests and stresses, has severe problems in providing its livelihood and needs assistance and borrowing from intermediaries in the fruit and vegetable fields to meet the needs and purchase of inputs for the next season, and the power of selection and management. It loses its production and becomes dependent on speculators. So that he has to accept any price set by the buyer.
- Determining the price order in the organization of municipal fruit and vegetable fields.
Which started with the aim of protecting the consumer, but has become a pest of agricultural production. In many cases, the prices are set without proper expertise and attention to the cost of the product, which not only eliminates competition and the formation of real prices, but also causes exhibitors to turn to low-quality and third-class products in order to comply with the price. Which will definitely lead to people’s dissatisfaction.
- No export of agricultural products.
For a variety of reasons, including poor quality and packaging, non-compliance with international standards, lack of policy stability, and lack of an international marketing approach to governments’ relations with foreign countries.
Corruption, quality loss, long distance from production to sales and high production costs are other problems in the sale and marketing of agricultural products.
Solutions-Cooperative system and unions
Rural cooperatives were established in the 1940s to help produce and sell farmers’ products. Establishment of production, maintenance and sales infrastructure such as supply of agricultural inputs and machinery in the village, warehouses, cold storage and packaging centers were among the measures taken by cooperatives and contributed to the prosperity of production. In different articles of the statute of the Central Organization of Rural Cooperatives, marketing is explicitly mentioned as one of the important responsibilities of cooperatives.
Responsibilities that have faded over time, and a small number of cooperatives are struggling to survive as far as fertilizers and pesticides are concerned. There is no doubt that the union of small and large farmers in the form of cooperatives and unions will increase bargaining power and make them more powerful in dealing with large buyers such as exporters and processing plants. In this way, farmers will play a decisive role in overcoming the market force that is currently at the disposal of buyers, especially intermediaries.
– Establishment of direct supply centers and markets for the sale of agricultural products
A pattern that is practiced in many countries and the operators of the booths are the producers. This method has many benefits, such as; offering fresh and quality product to the consumer, reasonable and competitive price, reducing waste and receiving cash in return for selling the product, which will motivate for better and more diverse production. It should be noted that the Municipal Fruit and Vegetable Markets Organization was initially established to achieve these goals. But it soon became a source of municipal revenue, and the booths were rented out to intermediaries, not producers.
-Capillary marketing
Transportation and distribution of products to retail stores, restaurants, hypermarkets and hotels. This method removes several intermediary loops. Small and large cooperatives and even several farmers together can prepare a diverse basket of fresh and high quality products and deliver them directly to the final shopping centers. This is something that some manufacturers are now doing individually and making huge profits.
– International marketing and export of agricultural products
Which requires government support from manufacturers and exporters to penetrate foreign markets and conform quality, price and packaging to the standards and needs of international markets.
– Establishment of conversion industries near the place of production.
Something has been done in the past and it has had positive results. Such as the establishment of factories producing oil, textiles and sugar in major centers for growing industrial and oil plants. This solution reduces corruption, reduces shipping costs and guarantees the purchase and order of production.
-Free advertising of agricultural products and introducing people to the best products.
Making documentaries and advertising teasers to acquaint people with Iranian agricultural products
– Holding rural festivals
In villages, cities or even in other countries, relying on the attractions of the village and with the approach of attracting tourists and selling and getting acquainted with the products of each region.
Conclusion:
Agriculture is the main axis of countries’ development and it is hoped that producers, stakeholders and those in charge of the agricultural sector will pay more attention to removing its obstacles.