Study the diagram:
| Government measures to improve agricultural marketing | |||
| Regulation of markets | P | Q | Policy instruments |
| Orderly and transparent marketing conditions | Roads, railways, warehouses, godowns, cold storages and processing units | Fair prices for farmers’ products, as with milk cooperatives | MSP, buffer stocks and PDS |
Which of the following correctly identifies P and Q?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → P – Provision of physical infrastructure; Q – Cooperative marketing
The diagram follows the four marketing measures in order. P stands over roads, warehouses and cold storages: the second measure, physical infrastructure. Q stands over fair prices through milk cooperatives: the third measure, cooperative marketing.
Option (1) P – Cooperative marketing; Q – Provision of physical infrastructure — Incorrect. This swaps P and Q.
Option (2) P – Provision of physical infrastructure; Q – Contract farming — Incorrect. Contract farming with fast food chains is an alternate marketing channel, not a government measure.
Option (3) P – Provision of physical infrastructure; Q – Cooperative marketing — Correct. Both match the facilities and aims shown.
Option (4) P – Alternate marketing channels; Q – Cooperative marketing — Incorrect. Alternate channels are farmers selling directly to consumers; they do not provide roads or warehouses.
NCERT (2026-27): “5.4 Agricultural Market System … 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. The success of milk cooperatives in transforming the social and economic landscape of Gujarat and some other parts of the country is testimony to the role of cooperatives. 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. …” |