THE ROLES OF GOVERNMENT IN MARKETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE

THE ROLES OF GOVERNMENT IN MARKETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE

Since Nigeria become independence in 1960, it various administrations have pursued a number of policies in respect of agriculture and agricultural marketing. Some of these are been discussed below:

1. The government has been actively engaged in the enactment of rules and regulations related to the granting of monopoly riches restriction or the activities of traders, licensing and market regulation.

2. The government has also attempted to assist farmers reduce post-harvest losses and marketing costs by providing facilities for storage facilities for storage and warehousing, transportation and communication, the granting of farm credits, grading and standardization and the encouragement of the formation of farmers’ cooperative marketing societies, the government as well set up processing plants for agricultural raw materials.

3. They grant tax incentives and administer prices at different levels of the marketing system. This comes in form of guaranteed minimum support prices to producers, providing commodities to consumers at fair prices and the fixing of rates of commission to be charged by commission agents. All these are aimed at encouraging the farmers to produce more for local consumption and for export.

4. Government has also attempted to influence the supply and demand for agricultural produce through importation, exportation, internal procurement of the surplus supply during the harvest period and distribution of the same during periods of scarcity.

5. The government has also established modern markets in many areas to aid marketing of agricultural produce.