Keen to grow as an important player in the global commercial network for marketing its perishable agriculture and animal husbandry products, the Government of India deputed a seven-member team led by K. Ramakrishna Rao, Secretary, Finance, Telangana State to Spain on a study tour.
The four-day study tour was sponsored by the National Cooperative Development Corporation to examine the system in Spain, which is one of the leading countries in the marketing of perishable agro-food products. The team also interacted with Ministry of Agriculture, Spain.
The prime function of the NCDC is to plan, promote and develop cooperatives for augmenting income through activities such as development of agriculture marketing, processing, storage and supply of inputs and consumer goods. The NCDC has taken up several such projects across the States and it wanted the team to visit Spain and study how it could provide market access for the agriculture, livestock and fisheries products.
The basic hurdle in India is lack of a formal structure supported by the local, State and Central governments in establishing a strong marketing network, said Mr. Ramakrishna Rao who returned from Spain on Monday. Spain has Merca Madrid, a marketing company established with the participation by the local, State and Central governments. The company provides total infrastructure required for the wholesale markets that includes proper weighing systems, cold storage, logistics and packaging units that operate in a sophisticated environment with high-level efficiency. The producers of vegetables, fruits, poultry, meat, fish would bring their produce to the wholesale markets and sell them. There is no auction and it is a free market with no intervention from the government, he explains.
“Every thing is streamlined and made hassle free for the sellers and the buyers. While 900 wholesale companies operate under Merca Madrid, 25,000 retailers buy from them every day. The stocks of fresh produce are sold out from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m,,” he said.
The Merca Madrid in the beginning used to function from the heart of the city. Later it was shifted to a spacious area housing all facilities under one umbrella organisation.
The team comprising representatives of NCDC, Maharashtra Markfed MD, Uttarakhand Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Secretary, Telangana Animal Husbandry Secretary Sandeep Sultania and headed by Mr. Ramakrishna Rao would submit a report to the Union Government soon on the best practices being implemented in Spain for marketing of agricultural and livestock production.
Mr. Ramakrishna Rao said Telangana government, which was promoting animal husbandry sector by distributing sheep, buffaloes, and giving fillip to fisheries sector to augment incomes, is now focused on opening up marketing avenues for these producers.
