SS3 Lesson Note on the Marketing of Agricultural Produce

The website has the complete lesson note for all the subjects in secondary school but this piece showcases the SS3 Lesson Note on the Marketing of Agricultural Produce. You can use the website search button to filter out the subject of interest to you.

CLICK HERE to download the complete Document: DOWNLOAD HERE

TOPIC: MARKETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE

CONTENT:

• Meaning and Importance of Marketing
• Marketing Agents

SUBTOPIC 1:   MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING

Agricultural Marketing involves all the stages of operations which aid the movement of agricultural produce/commodities from the farms to the final consumers. Marketing involves assembling, storing, transporting, processing, grading of goods and financing of all these activities. It also involves the supply of raw materials to processing industries and sales of processed products.

Importance of Agricultural Marketing

1. It creates a link between Farmers and the final Consumers.
2. It leads to the creation of employment to the agents involved in marketing
3. It makes the supply of seasonal goods possible throughout the year with little or no variation in price
4. It helps to prevent wastage of produced agricultural products
5. It stimulates the Government to provide infrastructure like roads, water, storage facilities, etc.
6. It makes goods produced in the rural areas to be readily made available in the urban areas where agricultural goods are not usually produced
7. It enables producers to determine and know the Consumer’s taste
8. It ensures prompt sales of agricultural produce which increases the farmers’ revenue and profit
9. It stimulates researches into the techniques of food preservation and preparation to meet the Consumer’s taste.

EVALUATION

1. What is Agricultural Marketing? / Explain the term Marketing in Agriculture.
2. State five importance of marketing in agriculture

SUBTOPIC 2:   MARKETING AGENTS

Marketing agents are the people or corporate bodies that are directly or indirectly involved in

the free flow of farm produce from the Farm to the consumer.

They include:

• Producers / farmers
• Wholesalers / Distributors
• Commodity or marketing boards
• Cooperative societies
• Retailers
• Individual / Private middlemen

PRODUCERS / FARMERS:

The Producers are farmers who are involved in both the production of goods and marketing of these produced commodities.

Advantages of Producers

1. The final consumers get the produce at reduced price
2. Fresh products are always made available to the consumers
3. Farmers’ income is maximized as they can get the full benefit of their activities.
4. They can sell to both cooperative societies and middlemen

Disadvantages of Producers as Marketing Agents

1. Lack of adequate storage and storage facilities
2. Farmers’ attention may be diverted from production activities
3. Increased loss of goods by farmers

INDIVIDUALS:

These are also known as private middlemen who go from one farm to another to buy farm products and later resell to consumers. They are sometimes called farm collectors or itinerant farmers.

Advantages of Individual Marketing Agent

1. They link producers with consumers
2. Provision of storage facilities
3. Loans may be given to worthy producers
4. The producers’ time is saved and directed towards other productive activities
5. They package products in an ideal state for marketing

Disadvantages of Individual Marketing Agent

1. It leads to inflation of commodity prices
2. It leads to hoarding (artificial scarcity of goods)
3. It leads to imperfect market.

WHOLESALERS

These are people who buy produced goods in bulk (large quantities) from the producers (farmers) and sell in small quantities to the retailer. They are also part of the middlemen.

Advantages

1. They serve as a link between the producers and the retailers
2. They provide good storage facilities
3. They also have good transport facilities
4. They purchase agricultural produce in large quantities thereby reducing loss of goods by producers.
5. They sell in credit to retailers
6. They advance loans to producers
7. They serve as finances to agricultural research programmes.

Disadvantages

1.         Exploitation of both producers and retailers

Click on the Downloadable Button to get the FULL NOTE