The document discusses how agricultural markets can be leveraged to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals in India. It outlines several new types of agricultural markets that have emerged, including contract farming, direct purchase models, and online marketplaces. These new markets involve different stakeholders like processors, exporters, and retail chains. The document examines how agricultural markets can help reduce poverty and inequality by improving farmer incomes and market access. It also analyzes the potential for markets like contract farming to promote more sustainable agricultural practices and resource use, while noting they also present some risks to small farmers and environmental sustainability if not properly regulated. Overall, the document argues that reforms to traditional wholesale markets and promoting more integrated value chains can help leverage agricultural markets to achieve

1. SUKHPAL SINGH
CRRID/IIMA
Leveraging Agricultural Markets
for Achieving SDGs in India:
Reforms and Policy1
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2. SDGs and agri markets
 Goal 1- No poverty
 Goal 2-Zero Hunger
 Goal 3-Good health and wellbeing
 Goal 10- Reduced inequalities
 Goal 12-Sustainable consumption and production
 Goal 13-Climate action
 Goal 14- Life below water
 Goal 15-Life on land
 Goal 17-Partnerships for the goals
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3. Changing Agri markets and new
stakeholders
New markets (market to the farm/field)
Direct purchase,
Contract farming
Private wholesale markets,
P-C market yards (farmers’ markets)
Online retailers/aggregators
New Stakeholders in wholesale markets
 Wholesale cash ‘n’ çarry players
 Food retail supermarkets (domestic and foreign)
 Processors/exporters
 Producer companies
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4. Poverty and Inequality: Role of agri
markets
 Help Better farmer incomes and, therefore, less
pressure on resources
 Help Cost reduction/control through direct farmer
interface and extension (CF and DP)
 Help Better/higher yields through quality incentives
and extension and input supply
 Markets can also help achieve crop, livelihood and
diet diversification
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5. Agri markets and Sustainability: case
of CF
 CF or direct purchase can help save natural
resources and help farmers produce more with less,
like MIS mandatory in Gujarat for McCain CFs
 CF also brings in new and more sustainable
technologies like organic, fair and better production
(BCI, SSI etc.)
 More stable markets and prices and therefore
incomes and livelihoods
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6. Agri markets and Sustainability: case of
CF
 But, important to examine how contract farming influences
resources and sustainability as contracting agencies and
state influence decisions
 Contracts tend to be concerned with land management
measures which ensure crop growth and quality and
production levels only in the short-term agricultural cycle.
 Environment is also impacted through rejection of some
produce of the grower by the contracting agency as the cost
of not harvesting/not being able to sell results in soil loss
through tillage and excessive use and wastage of chemicals
causing nutrient depletion
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7. Contract Farming and sustainability
 Small farmer exclusion (due to admission criteria)
e.g. MARKFED, PEPSI and NESTLE (poverty and
inequality)
 Employment increase but sustainability
(mechanisation) and gender and child labour
issues (inequality)
 Ecological sustainability – perpetuation of
chemical input intensity, except when
organic/export market driven
 Socio-economic differentiation – perpetuation of
‘reverse tenancy’ (inequality)
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8. Contract Farming and resource use
 In Punjab, during the last phase of diversification attempt
(2002-2007), contract farming led to less water
consumption on contract farms as against non-contract.
 Water consumption for paddy was 265.71 hours per acre
compared with only 183.86 hours for Basmati paddy
promoted/grown under contract farming.
 Maize cultivation under contract farming used only 18.35
hours water per acre.
 Overall, contract growers’ weighted water consumption per
acre was 120.49 hours compared with 129.58 hours for non-
contract growers.
 Thus, crops grown under contract farming arrangement
were water saving.
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9. Contract Farming and resource use
 But, reduced water consumption on contract farms was due to
greater area devoted to new crops (Basmati and Maize) and not due
to any new agril. practices promoted.
 Infact, contract farmers practiced more intensive farming than the
non-CF ones and devoted significantly higher no. of water hours to
basmati and maize than that by non-contract farmers.
 Crop combination of potato and sunflower promoted under
contract farming was more water intensive, though more
remunerative than wheat, and, therefore, defeated the very purpose
of contract farming.
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10. Reduction of wastage in perishables
 Delisting of F&V from APMC Act?-Exempt F&V crops
from APMC rules only for CF and Direct purchase.
Untargeted waivers are no good
 Regulate/promote perishable produce markets: they
are the future- Farmers’ markets
 In fact, spaces in large cities can be made available to
farmers free of cost for selling their perishable
produce directly to consumers.
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11. Sustainable production and agri
markets- case of BCI
BCI principles
 Minimum use of crop protection chemicals
 Conservation and efficient use of water
 Maintenance of soil health
 Conservation of natural habitats
 Improvement of fibre quality
 Promotion of Decent work
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12. Leveraging Agri makets for SDGs:
some pointers
 Reform APMC markets- free licensing for better
competition, e-payment of market fee, ensure open
auction system, better facilities, PC representation in
APMC mgt., Denotification of CAs/Arthiyas like in
MP (APMC markets serve as competitors to contract farming and ‘direct’ purchase
practiced by retail chains, and can help improve the terms offered by retail chains to
growers as contract/direct prices are benchmarked to APMC prices
 More direct linkages with farmers
 Group marketing and group contracts
 Multi-stakeholder initiatives like BCI or food chain
partnerships
 GAMPs
 Integration into and control by farmers in value
chains/GPNs needed
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13. thanks
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