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Rural Marketing

Notes commodities, such stocked goods lose their saleability and the entire venture runs at the risk of
becoming non-viable. Poor marketing techniques result in lower price for products and
consequently, lesser income for the craftsmen/artisans.
Marketing, especially in today’s globalised world, plays a crucial role in any business enterprise.
Efficient need-based training on specific marketing requirements can ensure the success and
viability of any production activity. Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI) has
planned Training Programmes on Rural Marketing (Marketing of Rural Products) for NGOs to
be organised at Delhi & Bhubaneswar. The programme will aim at inculcating rural marketing
skills among NGO functionaries so that they can perform this function effectively.

12.3.1 NGOs’ Roles in Market Systems

Maryanne drew on Practical Action’s typology of market roles to consider the range and evolution
of NGO interventions in markets. She suggested that while no systematic assessment exists,
NGOs are becoming more prominent in all the activities identified in the Practical Action
typology including policy advocacy but left it open to NGOs present to confirm or challenge
this. What is clear is that there is increasing emphasis on the demand side of the market and a
realisation that it is not enough to work on supply. At an FAO-VREDESEILANDEN workshop in
2006 it was argued that the great majority of NGOs are moving towards encouraging farmers to
carry out market-led production and being supply chain facilitators.
Another major trend is for NGOs to enter into and seek partnerships with business as a way both
to tap into business resources and skills and to influence practice in the private sector. This and
the trend for NGOs to set up social enterprise companies can lead to blurring of NGO and
business boundaries. Are social enterprise companies owned wholly or partly by NGOs, still
NGOs?

ACTS is an NGO working for holistic development in rural and urban areas of India, focusing on
community health, mother and child health, sustainable development and environmental issues.
Networks with universities, corporates and government.

Coffee is an example of a product market where NGO involvement has been extensive and has
taken a number of forms. There have been considerable NGO efforts to promote value chain
development through fair trade (globally coffee was the first fair trade product). Other NGOs
have promoted organic certification and sustainability certification (Rainforest Alliance).
Certification has often been accompanied by or preceded by efforts to promote producer
organizations.
NGOs have also taken a role in market intermediation. Oxfam and Traidcraft set up a trading
and coffee roasting company Café Direct, now the UK’s leading Fair Trade drinks company.
More recently, Oxfam with a group of coffee-growing cooperatives set up Progreso Cafes Limited,
with 25% of the shares bought on behalf of the cooperatives, 25% held by a Coffee Producers
Trust which will pay for development projects in poor coffee growing communities and 50%
held by Oxfam. This is a partnership with Matthew Algie, an independent coffee roaster.
Policy advocacy has also had considerable attention from NGOs with efforts being focused now
on the renegotiation of the International Coffee Agreement. NGOs have been arguing for greater
consideration to the interests of small producers.

Finally, coffee has been the focus of multi-stakeholder partnerships to raise environmental and
social standards. The Common Code for the Coffee Community (4 Cs) is a joint initiative of
coffee producers, trade and industry, trade unions, and social and environmental NGOs to
develop a global code of conduct aiming at social, environmental and economic sustainability
in the production, post-harvest processing and trading of mainstream green coffee.

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