CHAPTER FOUR

FACILITIES AND AMENITIES

IN APMCs
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CHAPTER IV

FACILITIES AND AMENITIES IN APMCs

In order to attract the agricultural produce to the market yards, it is

inevitable that the farmers, market functionaries and officials will have to be

provided with adequate facilities and amenities. The facilities and amenities are

not only to encourage producer sellers and traders to make use of the markets,

but also to give them comforts and minimise inconveniences when they are

exposed to the marketing processes.

The facilities are many. There is no limit to the standards in the provisions

of facilities. However, the Indian Standard Institution has spell out in detail the

trade facilities and amenities that are considered essential and hence made

available in every market. The researcher has analysed in this chapter such

facilities provided in the regulated markets of Dharwad, Gadag and Haveri

districts. The facilities and amenities as enumerated in the Indian Standards

Institution are listed below. These facilities will have to be provided in all the

APMCs.

4.1 Facilities and Amenities as Enumerated in the ISI1 :

4.1.A General Facilities :

/. Shops and Small Godowns : These are necessary for selling their

goods and also to store the goods in larger quantity.

//. Platforms for Drying and Cleaning ; Usually farmers bring the goods

directly from the field to the market. The crop may be dry or wet. In case
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the crop brought is wet, the APMC should facilitate the land for drying as

well as cleaning their goods.

//'/. Auction Halls: These halls are necessary for auctioning of goods at

APMC yard, for systematic way of auctioning the goods in a particular

place.

iv. Parking space for Carts Tractors, Trucks etc : Basically, goods are

brought into the market yard by the farmers through tractors, trucks and

other vehicles. So, a separate place has to be provided to park all these

vehicles and carts.

v. Storage godown : To prevent the goods from being perished due to rain
f

and other troubles, special godowns will have to be constructed for the

goods brought by farmers. The goods can be stored here for a very long

time.

vi. Market Office: Market office is very necessary for the farmers to make an

entry of their goods which they bring for selling. Through this, it would be

helpful to them for getting remunerative price for their goods.

vii. Bank and Post Office: The provision of bank and post office is necessary

in APMCs. The bank helps the farmers and market functionaries to make

cash transactions and post office helps them to communicate with others.

viii. Check-Post: These are expected to keep an eye on unwanted or an

unauthorized persons and abstain them, from entering the market to avoid

any kind of problems.

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ix. Fire Fighting Arrangements : Fire fighting machines are to be provided

to majority of market yards / subyards to take care of the accidental

damages due to out break of fire to minimize losses.

4.I.B. Amenities :

i. Public Urinals and Lavatories: APMC should provide the provision of

urinals as well as lavatories in the premises of market yards / sub yards

for the utility of farmers and market functionaries.

ii. Drinking Water: Drinking water facility is essential for the people who visit

the market yards and necessary measures should be taken for proper

supply of water and maintaining the water tanks clean.

iii. Water traughs for Animals: Some farmers are bringing their farm

produce to the market yards through carts driven by animals. For cattle

markets, the animals are brought for sale. In all such places, the

concerned APMCs should provide water troughs.

iv. Canteen : Farmers and traders come from distant places to the market

yards to sell/purchase the produce. They will have to wait till the

transactions are over. During this period, their requirement of food and

drinks, canteen facilities are to be provided by the APMCs.

v. Rest House : Farmers have to wait for their turn in the process of

marketing of their produce. In order to provide some rest during this

period, the rest houses are to be provided for the farmers. They can

sleep or discuss anything at the rest-houses.

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vi. Cattleshed : Some of the farmers bring their farm by produce in bullock

cart. Hence a separate cattleshed is to be provided which helps the cattle

to take rest and have food.

vii. Vet shoe Maker: The services of Vet Shoe maker is also important, who

helps in case an animal suffers from any problem.

viii. Roads: Proper construction of roads helps the farmers to bring their

goods early and safely to the market.

ix. Lights : Lighting facility is also required to avoid theft of goods and for

other reasons at night.

x. Disposal of Waste: Waste bins are to be provided in different places in

the market yard to dispose the waste material which will help to keep the

market premises clean.

xi. First-aid equipments: Inorder to give the first aid treatment to the

farmers or any market functionaries during exigencies first aid equipments

are to be provided to each and every market yard.

xiii. Market Information : Day-to-day information regarding the price, market

arrivals, notified commodities, etc, should be available which helps the

farmers to know the market conditions. These information are to be

displayed outside every APMC office, apart from being broadcasted

through radios and published through local new papers.

x/V. Petrol Pump : Goods are brought by the farmers to the market through

vehicles. Inorder to refuel their vehicles, petrol pump facilities are

necessary.
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xv. Veterinary Hospital : The animals brought to the market either as cart

pullers or for sale are to be treated immediately, if they suffer from any

health problems. The veterinary hospitals are to be established in the

market yards for this purpose.

xvi. Sundry Shops : The sundry shops are also to be provided, which help

the farmers to get the things quickly and avoid them going far away.

4.1.C Other Amenities not covered Under ISI Standards :

i. Fencing of yard / Compound wall; To protect animals going out of the

compound and avoid any kind of disturbances, fence has been put.

ii. Trees with platform : Platforms will have to be constructed around trees,

so that the farmers can sit in the shade of the trees on these platforms and

have little rest during their leisure.

Hi. Guestrooms : Traders and officials visiting the APMC, who have come

from distant places have to wait for one or two days to sell or buy the

commodities. Under such conditions for the stay of the people the facility

of guest house should be provided in the market.

iv. Grading facility: This facility helps to come to know about the quality of

the goods and according to the quality the price can be fixed.

v. Garden : The farmers can also enjoy sitting in the garden and chat

something until their turn of selling the commodity arrives.

vi. Security force : This facility is to be provided to avoid theft and also to

protect the goods from being taken away by the lifters.

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vii. Co-operative Marketing Society: There is a scope to have co-operative

marketing societies to act as marketing functionaries as per provisions

of KAPM (R) Act, 1966 in the APMCs. Some of the farmers may be willing

to sell their produce through such co-operative marketing societies only,

rather than through individual commission agents. Hence all APMCs

should give scope for such societies.

viii. Weigh bridge : It helps to weigh the goods properly and get proper

value for the goods and also avoids the litigations among farmers

regarding weight of the goods.

4.2. Schemes Provided bv State Government

4.2. A. Floor Price Scheme :2

The State Government and APMCs have introduced the “Floor price

scheme" to assist the farmers to get good price, whenever the price comes down

because of maximum production. Hence, Rs.200 crore has been kept as

“recurring deposit” for this purpose. This system relates to all the productions,

especially those which are perishable, except the commodities which get

minimum support price fixed by the central government.

4.2. B Accident Relief Scheme for the Agriculturists :3

In association with all the APMCs, the State Government, has introduced

“Raita Sanjeevini Apaghat Vima Yojane” to provide financial security to the

agricultural families by assisting them financially, if they meet with an accident

while selling their goods or keeping themselves on agricultural work. A

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compensation of Rs.25,000/- is paid when a farmer dies of an accident. If he

becomes disabled, Rs.1,500-15,000/- is paid depending on the disability.

4.2. C “JANASHREE” Scheme for the below poverty level farmers :4

The life of the farmers in rural area is very miserable. . The plight of the

farmers who are below poverty level is still worse. They are constantly assailed

by financial constraints under these miserable conditions. When the farmer is

struggling to make both ends meet, the death of a family member is like adding

fuel to the fire. Death is quite uncertain and accidents occur unasked, or but to

face them is really difficult. Nobody will be prepared to face these unforeseen

situations. The poor farmer is helpless and his cry for help falls on deaf ears.

The sympathy and the help of the neighbors is temporary when there is death, or

when a person is rendered invalid due to accident. Though the other farmers

(people) are interested in helping forever, due to their own family pressures it

might not be possible for them. Under these circumstances, the life of the

farmers along with the financial problems becomes even more miserable.

Having realised this problem, the Karnataka State Agricultural Marketing Board

and Agricultural Marketing Department have joined hands with the LIC to help

the poor farmers through ‘‘Janashree Insurance Scheme". Through the APMCs

of the State, they have undertaken the task of solving the problems of grief

striken farmers.

i) Aim : Karnataka State Agricultural Marketing Board came into existence

on 01/09/1972, in accordance with the Karnataka Agricultural Produce

Marketing (Control) Act of 1966. Under Section 112 of this Act, various
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activities of the committee have been stated in detail. According to

Section 112 (G), the committee has to provide insurance facilities to the

farmers of Karnataka State.

Lakhs of poor farmers are living in the jurisdiction of KAPMC.

Among these poor farmers, if anybody dies a natural death, a

compensation of Rs.20,000 and in case of death due to accident a

compensation of Rs.50,000 will be given to his family members. Those

rendered permanently invalid, a compensation of Rs.25,000 to 50,000 will

be given in accordance with the severity of the accident.

ii) Scope of the Scheme : “Janashree” insurance scheme is applicable to

farmers below poverty level and between the age group of 18 and 59.

Under this scheme, the names of the farmers coming in the area of the

concerned APMC will be registered. To confirm the age of the beneficiary,

either the birth certificate or the school / college living certificate will be

taken into consideration. If the person is incapable of producing both the

certificates, the doctors confirmation letter will be considered.

iii) Commencement of the Scheme : As per the decision by the KAPMCs

General Body Meeting on 18/03/2002, the ‘Janashree’ insurance scheme

came into force from 01/04/2002 throughout Karnataka State.

iv) Method of paying the premium : According to this scheme, the farmers

below poverty level have to pay an annual premium of Rs.100. Every

eligible farmer through the marketing committee of his area has to provide

the necessary information in the prescribed format and pay the annual
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premium amount. This amount is not refundable and one month before the

end of every year, every eligible farmer will have to renew his registration

by paying the fixed amount. If they have not renewed their names, they

will not come under the insurance benefit.

v) Method of registration: “Janashree Insurance Scheme", registration

forms are available in the office of all the APMCs. In State. Farmers

below poverty level can take the registration forms from the committee, fill

it and pay the premium and get the receipt for the same.

Along with the application form, the following documents have to be given:

a) Certificate confirming the date of birth.

b) A letter to confirm that he is a farmer.

c) Tahashildar’s certificate confirming that he is a farmer below

poverty level.

vi) Insurance amount and how to get it: The insurance will be in force for

the period of one year from the date of registration.

For the year 2002-03, the compensation will be paid only after one

month of paying the insurance premium as a result of death or accident.

Details of the compensation are given in table 4.1.

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Table 4,1 : Details of compensation given to the beneficiaries of

“Janashree” Scheme
SI.No Particulars Amt. of compensation

a) In case of natural death Rs.20,000

b) Death due to accident Rs.50,000

c) Permanently handicap due to accident Rs.50,000

d) Permanent invalidity due to accident of

any two body parts viz. hands, legs and eyes Rs.50,000

e) Loss of one eye, hand or leg due to accident Rs.25,000

Source : Hand book, 2002, Karnataka State Agricultural Marketing Board, Bangalore.

If one wants to claim compensation for being handicapped due to

accident, the claim application has to be forwarded within three months from the

date of accident.

4.3. Facilities and Amenities in APMCs of the Study Area :

The farmers bring their produce to the APMCs through different modes of

transportation for sales. In the present investigation, the facilities and amenities

provided by the APMCs and the satisfaction of the farmer-respondents to these

facilities are discussed below under appropriate subheads.

4.3. A. Facilities and Amenities provided in the APMCs :

Table 4.2 gives in detail the facilities and amenities provided in the

selected APMCs.
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Table 4.2 Facilities and amenities provided in the selected APMCs.

Faciities and Amenities Hubli Kundgol Gadag Mundargi Ranebennur Hirekerur
provided
I. Facilities !
1. Shops and qodowns ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
2. Platforms for drying ✓ ✓ ✓
and cleaninq
V
3, Auction halls ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
4. Parking space ✓ ✓
■/ r . ' ✓ ✓
■/
5. Market office ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
6 Bank ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
7. Post office ✓ ✓ ✓
8. Fire fighting ✓ ✓
arrangements
9. Transport
V
10. Accessibility to ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
market yard
II Amenities
s
1.Public Urinals and ✓ ✓
Lavatories
2. Drinking water ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
3. Canteen ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
4. Rest House ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
5. Cattleshed ✓
6. Vet shoe maker ✓ ✓
7. Roads ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
8. Lights ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
•/
9. Wastebins ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
•/
10. Firstaid equipments ✓ ✓ ✓
11. Market information ✓ ✓ ✓
12. Veterinary hospital
13. Primary health
center
III. Others
1. Fensing ✓ ✓ ✓
2. Guest House ✓ ✓ ✓
3. Grading facilities ✓ ✓ ✓
4. Security force ✓ ✓ ✓
5. Co-operative ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Marketing Society
6. Weigh bridge ✓ ✓ ✓
7. Arbitrary committee ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
to settle disputes
Source : Survey data

From the above table it could be seen that, most of the facilities and

amenities recommended by Indian Standards Institution (presented under 4.1)

are being provided by Hubli, Gadag and Ranebennur APMCs. There is still
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further scope for improving the facilities and amenities in Kundagol, Mundargi

and Hirekerur markets.

4.3. B Satisfaction of the farmer respondents to the facilities

provided bv the APMCs.

In the above sub-section, the facilities and amenities provided by the

selected APMCs is briefed. The present section probes in to the satisfaction

derived by the farmer respondents from these facilities.

The number of farmer respondents who expressed satisfaction to

different facilities provided is presented in the following table.

Table 4,3 :Number of farmer respondents satisfied with the facilities provided by APMC
Services Hirekerur Ranebennur Kundgol Hubli Mundargi Gadag Total
1 Storage 1 1 0 2 0 3 7
(4.00) (2.50) (0.00) (4.65) (0.00) (7.14) (3.50)
2 Processing 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
(0.00) (0.00) (0.00) (0.00) (0.00) (4.76) (1 00)
3, Grading 2 3 0 2 0 4 11
(8.00) (7.50) (0.00) (4.65) (0.00) (9.52) (5.50)
4. Weighing 2 4 4 7 3 10 30
(8.00) (10.00) (16.00) (16.28) (12.00) (23.81) (15.00)
5. Insurance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
(0.00) (0.00) (0.00) (0.00) (0.00) (0.00) (0.00)
6. Comm. Agents
and their
functions 17 38 15 41 19 31 161
(68.00) (95.00) (60.00) (91.35) (76.00) (73.81) (80.50)
7. Coolies 0 2 0 1 0 0 3
(0.00) (5,00) (0.00) (2.33) (0.00) (0.00) (1.50)
8. Market yard 4 6 0 6 0 13 29
(16.00) (15.00) (0.00) (13.95) (0.00) (30.95) (14.50)
Source : Survey data
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From the above table, it could be observed that. 80.50 per cent of the

farmer respondents are satisfied with the commission agents and their

functioning. It implies that’s the market functionaries, particularly the commission

agents, contribute a lot in effective functioning of the marketing activity. Around

15 per cent of the farmer respondents are satisfactory with the existing market

yards and proper weighing arrangements in the markets.

This table also suggests for improving and /or providing all the

facilities to the farmer respondents to (a) induce the farmers to bring their

produce to the APMCs, and (b) create a healthy atmosphere in the APMCs for

both farmers as well as market functionaries for arriving at a fair price, agreeable

to both farmers and traders.