Agricultural Market Development

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN advises that an efficient and adequate marketing system is a ..... for agricultural diversification, providing better prices to producers and the availability of competitively priced produce to consumers.

Physical improvement is usually addressed in two ways: by providing improved market infrastructure (both urban and rural) and by improving rural ..... roads.

Rural markets form part of a trade network; they are normally arranged on a ..... basis on specific weekdays and are commonly organised at a central place in a village or district centre.

Larger rural markets ('assembly markets') are found where greater quantities of produce are traded, either by the producers themselves or by traders, and are normally situated on main highways, or near to ferries and other local transport ......

..... wholesale and semi-wholesale markets are located within or near major cities (usually with populations exceeding 0.5 million).

Retail markets directly serve consumers in main urban areas; although primarily retail, they may have some semi-wholesale functions, particularly if they allow producers to trade - in which case, they are often called ..... markets.

Internal factors for change include increasing volumes of produce to be handled; alterations to commercial practices and trading patterns; and the ..... of professional specialised wholesalers.

The main external causes for change are ..... factors, including increase in population of a city as a result of migration and natural growth, population shifts within cities and moves to the suburbs, and changes in the location and nature of workplaces.

A common problem at both wholesale and retail levels is that the markets are viewed as tax ..... rather than as means of facilitating the marketing of local produce: the marketing system is 'kidnapped' by municipalities, with the sole purpose of collecting taxes.

These factors all need to be taken into ..... in identifying the best approach to market development.