Hi everybody there in blogosphere,
This is Akshay, and this is my first attempt at blogging. I had heard, read and was also told about blogs, but somehow I was not into it. However there were times I wanted to reach out to people and share my views, opinions and just being with several people without a façade or attitude. The Blogging has bogged me continuously in the recent past and that is why this essay.
I am doing my PGDM and in the final year. Recently after classes my friends and I had an animated discussion on impacts of GLOBALISATION (What else?) and finally centered around Inclusion and Exclusion of certain sections of our beloved India from the fruits (?) and benefits of it. Obviously the library beckoned me for further reading and the book I selected was-”INCLUSIVE VALUE CHAINS IN INDIA- Linking the smallest producers to Modern Markets” by Malcolm Harper.
The book exposes the reader to a silent but a sure change that is happening in rural markets and also the Inclusiveness as well as the inevitability of linkages of big players with small fries.
Introduction: There is a growing feeling and unease that the benefits of liberalization in the Indian economy have been cornered by a few sections of the society and majority of the population has been left out. Worst still is the impression that the rich are growing richer and the poor are becoming still poorer.
The economic liberalization has brought in Foreign Investments in to various sectors fuelling employment opportunities and tremendous growth in the GDP. Many sections could not derive the benefits mainly out of lack of Information, Knowledge and Skills. Few other sections are out of the loop because of systemic deficiencies and little concerted efforts to streamline production, distribution and marketing of especially agro products.
With the opening of retail trade for FDI and the entry of corporate sector, the older order of retail trade feels threatened. However the up scaling efforts of the corporates the small farmers and producers can benefit provided proper linkages are put in place and streamlined.
The book Inclusive Value Chain in India takes an analytical look at these opportunities. It evaluates the existing linkages and arrives at conclusions which strongly advocates for strengthening of linking Small producers to Modern Markets.
To quote from the Book: “the inclusion (or exclusion) of the poor, particularly small farmers and artisans, from modern value chains such as supermarkets and export markets is a highly topical subject in India. This book addresses the issues in a positive way by showing that the poor can be and are being included, not as an “act of charity” or “corporate social responsibility”, but because their inclusion is profitable for all parties, including the producers themselves”.
The book endeavors to establish that “modern” integrated value chains need not necessarily exclude the smallest producers and to emphasize the arguments, 14 case studies are presented to illustrate how it is being solved in practice. The book also discusses the impacts of organized retailing on small-scale traders, and finally analyses the case studies and draws conclusions from them.
The author argues that by putting in place a value chain it is possible to create an inclusive win-win situation for major stakeholders.
Thats it for now..
I would post my next blog to share and also to learn, as and when I stumble upon interesting aspects of this difficult yet interesting subject of " Rural Marketing"
Thats it for now..
I would post my next blog to share and also to learn, as and when I stumble upon interesting aspects of this difficult yet interesting subject of " Rural Marketing"
