ABSTRACT
The chapter briefly discusses the present marketing arrangements, the emergence of different supply/value chains and marketing models, policy initiatives, and the innovations that unfolded during the COVID-19 lockdown period to link farmers to market in Karnataka. The efforts made by ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research during the lockdown period to ease the supply chain constraints are also highlighted. While the Model Act 2003 and the APLM Act 2017 paved the way for the creation of private markets and contract farming, the policy interventions to support FPO/FPC stand out which may make a dent in this direction. Institutionalising direct marketing and distant market sale would be crucial post-COVID-19. The emergence of farmers’ markets and e-trading, especially through the e-NAM platform with networked FPOs, needs to be strengthened to recover from the crisis post-COVID. ICAR-IIHR has designed solar powered F&V vending vans, tricycles, tomato crushers, and high humidity chambers; low-cost ripening technology will gain momentum and penetrate into different states as these technologies are most suited.
