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Regulating
Agricultural Markets
Siraj-ul-Hasan
ARTICLE (December 13 2002) : The institution of agricultural markets, though in existence since long in Pakistan, to facilitate the sale-purchase of agricultural commodities is still beset with a number of drawbacks.
Even on their statuary regulation under the provincial Agricultural Produce (Markets) Acts, their working has not been satisfactory.
A retrospective look into the statuary regulation of these markets reveals that it was first done in the undivided province of Punjab by means of a legislation known as "Agricultural Produce (Markets) Act, 1939 on the recommendation of Royal Agricultural Commission of 1928.
On the eve of Independence, the system was duly inherited by Pakistan, first in Punjab and much later in Sindh. In the other two provinces of NWFP and Balochistan, it is still in its infancy.
At present, there are about 316 regulated agricultural wholesale markets, mostly located in Punjab, only 68 in Sindh and one or two each in NWFP and
Balochistan.
The object of the regulation of markets is to eliminate the malpractices and scaling down the excessive market rates.
In order to ensure the proper working of these markets and oversee their various operations market committees are constituted drawing their members - both from amongst the farmers and the market operators viz wholesalers and commission agents and later on, from the consumers as well.
The purpose of giving representation to various groups is that the marketing of agricultural production may be brought under some sort of discipline.
These market committees failed to deliver the goods efficiently and equitably with the farmers being the worst suffers.
These committees mostly kept themselves engaged in managing the sale/purchase of the produce and collecting market fees. As a result, necessary facilities envisaged in the Markets Act could not go beyond conceptual limits. Consequently, farmers, being the main focus, could not benefit as conceived. In some of the regulated, commission agents, wholesalers and other market functionaries continued to charge their sums at a much higher rate than permitted in the Markets Act.
The agricultural wholesale markets, both in the Punjab and Sindh, continued operating under provincial agriculture departments till 1978. In Sindh the regulated markets and their respective market committees were transferred to a newly established department viz Bureau of Supply and Prices (BSP) in 1979.
This administrative change was well-conceived and as a matter of fact, it changed the entire complexion of the system and for the first time various developmental activities required for systematic and judicial marketing were initiated in Sindh.
The market committees, after functioning for more than a decade upto 1993, were again put under the control of provincial agriculture department. These frequent administrative changes, kicking the market committee from one department to another, made confusion worse confounded, stunting the development and progress of this useful institution (BSP).
The success stories to the credit of BSP, always active and decisions making necessary improvements included:-
(i) the establishment of a scientific market information system based on collection of wholesale and retail prices along with the relating data (arrivals, dispatches etc) and processing it in various ways for the benefit of the farmers and guidance of the policy makers.
(ii) construction of a modern fruit and vegetable market at a spacious site in Karachi under a project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as a part of a chain of such markets established or to be established in other major cities of Sindh,
(iii) holding of weekly markets at various sites where various agricultural commodities and many other items of consumption were sold at a much cheaper rate than the open market prices,
(iv) during Ramazan, each year arrangements used to be made to oversee the ruling price of various popular commodities not to exceed the prescribed prices, and
(v) and establishment of a price stabilisation committee (PSC) as a permanent measure to check the hike in prices. Thus the committee formulated and made a number of recommendations and suggestions for improving the price structure for submission to the then Governor which remained unattended due to the change of Governor. This also made the committee itself dormant.
Despite such a spectacular and commendable performance by the BSP, it is unfortunate that this useful organisation has now been disbanded for the reasons best known to the policy-makers.
Now, when the complexion of governance is on the change in pursuance of the elected local bodies assuming charge of their representations, the control of agriculture wholesale market may be entrusted to them.
In the province of Punjab, being the pioneer of market regulation, things are comparatively better. But, there also the market committee are under the control of various offices of provincial agriculture department. In the absence of market committees supervision by the elected representatives of the farmers, market functionaries as laid down in the Agricultural produce (Markets) Act.
In order to improve the working of market committees in Punjab also, it is suggested that necessary amendments may be made in the Provincial Markets Act for assumption of control of market committees by the recently elected local bodies.
In NWFP and Balochistan, the regulation of market is still in infancy where only one or two wholesale market have been regulated in their respective capital cities. Here also the newly elected local bodies may be brought forward to extend the regulation to markets in other cities as well.
Source: Business Recorder |
Pakissan.com;
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