To ensure higher prices for the farmers, the Dalwai Panel has recommended that the agricultural marketing should guide the flow of produce from farm-to-fork, through the flow of information from fork-to-farm. Hence, in a way, there is a need to focus on Inverse "Fork-to-Farm" strategy.
| FARM-TO-FORK STRATEGY | FORK-TO-FARM STRATEGY | |
| Approach used | Production led Approach | Market led Approach |
| Strategy | Sale of agricultural commodities in the market to ensure remunerative prices forfarmers | Undertake cultivation of crops based upon prevailing demand. |
| Flow of Information | From farm to Market (Production related Information) | From Market to Farm (Demand related Information) |
| Integration of demand with Supply | Poor Integration | Higher Integration. Production based upon demand. |
| Prices received by Farmer | May be lower | Higher |
Hence, Dalwai Committee has recommended adoption of inverse "Fork-to-Farm" strategy to bring about a strategic shift from production-based push into markets towards a demand-based pull. This approach focuses on reverse flow of information from markets to farmers would also enable the farmer to take informed decisions about what to market, when to market and to whom.
BENEFITS OF FORK-TO-FARM STRATEGY
This approach focuses on reverse flow of information from markets to farmers would also enable the farmer to take informed decisions about what to market, when to market and to whom.
The new strategy would benefit Indian agriculture in a multi-faceted manner:
- Promote diversification of Indian Agriculture towards high value crops and allied sector.
- Enable Agriculture to cater to shift in consumption pattern towards protein-based foods such as Pulses, Egg, Fish, Meat etc.
- Ensure higher prices for the farmers and reduce risk.
- Ensure both Food security as well as nutritional security.
- Prevent Inflation in Agri commodities
- Enable us to boost exports according to international demand and capture newer markets.