MARKETING OF HORTICULTURAL CROPS IN KARNATAKA ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS*

摘要

Karnataka is one of the major producers of horticultural crops like fruits, vegetables, flowers, plantation crops and spices. Karnataka accounts for 8.33 per cent of area and 7.08 per cent of production of horticultural crops in India (2016-17). The State has the distinction of being the producer of specialty crops like Rose Onion, Ney Poovan (Elakki) banana, Mattugulla brinjal, Nanjanagud Rasabale, Mysore Chiguru betel leaf which have GI tags. Further, International Flower Auction, Bengaluru (IFAB)is another milestone in flower marketing. The production of these crops in general and fruits and vegetables in particular has been increasing over the years as a result of recent technological breakthroughs in terms of improved varieties/hybrids, production and protection technologies, sometimes resulting in glut in the market. There has been a serious thought on improvement of market infrastructure as a forward linkage for the increased production of these crops. Efforts are on to put in place institutional arrangements to take care of the surplus production. However, in spite of these arrangements, the producer's share in consumer rupee is still not so encouraging. While on one hand, non remunerative prices are responsible for lower producer's share, on the other, enormous post harvest losses occurring at different stages of handlingand the resultant deterioration of marketing efficiency and hence, lower returns to the producers (Gajanana etal. 2018).