Which of the following pairs of a government measure for agricultural marketing and a fact about it is correctly matched?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Physical infrastructure – inadequate to meet the growing demand
The government took four measures to improve agricultural marketing. Each pair below links a measure with a result or a weakness.
Option (1) Regulation of markets – benefited farmers but did not benefit consumers — Incorrect. By and large, regulation of markets benefited farmers as well as consumers.
Option (2) Cooperative marketing – received a setback because of too many farmer members — Incorrect. The setback came from inadequate coverage of farmer members, a weak link between marketing and processing cooperatives and inefficient financial management.
Option (3) Policy instruments – aimed mainly at raising the export earnings from farm produce — Incorrect. MSP, buffer stocks and PDS aim at protecting the income of farmers and giving foodgrains to the poor at a subsidised rate.
Option (4) Physical infrastructure – inadequate to meet the growing demand — Correct. Roads, warehouses, godowns and cold storages are quite inadequate for the growing demand and need to be improved.
NCERT (2026-27): “5.4 Agricultural Market System … Let us discuss four such measures that were initiated to improve the marketing aspect. The first step was regulation of markets to create orderly and transparent marketing conditions. By and large, this policy benefited farmers as well as consumers. … Second component is provision of physical infrastructure facilities like roads, railways, warehouses, godowns, cold storages and processing units. The current infrastructure facilities are quite inadequate to meet the growing demand and need to be improved. Cooperative marketing, in realising fair prices for farmers’ products, is the third aspect of government initiative. … However cooperatives have received a setback during the recent past due to inadequate coverage of farmer members, lack of appropriate link between marketing and processing cooperatives and inefficient financial management. The fourth element is the policy instruments like (i) assurance of minimum support prices (MSP) for agricultural products (ii) maintenance of buffer stocks of wheat and rice by Food Corporation of India and (iii) distribution of food grains and sugar through PDS. These instruments are aimed at protecting the income of the farmers and providing foodgrains at a subsidised rate to the poor. …” |