Agricultural Marketing Boards in the Developing Countries

Marketing boards which are set up by government action, with broad responsibilities and powers of compulsion over producers and handlers of defined commodities, play an increasingly important role in the developing countries. Six broad types are distinguished: advisory and promotional boards, regulatory boards, boards stabilizing prices without engaging in trade, boards stabilizing prices by trading alongside other enterprises, export monopoly marketing boards, and domestic monopoly marketing boards. Better techniques are needed for analyzing and improving the efficiency of these boards. Criteria for appraisal include ability to raise producer bargaining power, to stabilize supplies and prices, to improve marketing services, and to reduce marketing margins, within the administrative constraints and marketing conditions prevalent in the developing countries. Tax implications, staffing arrangements, and varying standards of political and personal integrity are issues commonly raised. Effective appraisal calls for a greater willingness on the part of the boards to allow access to information about their operations than is to be found generally at present.