Advancement of Agri-Trading Systems Towards Improving Farmers' Economic Situations in Bangladesh

Introduction

Agriculture sector act both as the backbone of nation’s economy especially in the least developing countries (LDCs) (Girma and Kuma, 2021). Regarding food supply, food security, creating employment Agri-trading system is the primary factor contributing to farmer's socio-economic situations in Bangladesh. Rural transformation is a sedate process in which rural incomes rise, rural economies diversify, and rural-urban connections develop (Kruseman et al., 2020). To bring progression in the Agri-trading system of Bangladesh like the adaptation of the digital Agri-Trading and marketing system and digital agriculture market information system, which will be much more profitable for the farmers and their socio-economical situations as well as for the country's development and welfare. Farmers of Bangladesh use “orthodox or the traditional” market system for Agri-trading (Rahman and Neena, 2018). Traditional Agri-market of Bangladesh consists of different kinds of business sharks such as Faria, Bepari, Aratdar, Miller, Wholesaler, and Retailer who are altogether known as intermediaries or middle traders. Those intermediaries are responsible for performing different kinds of roles in running the Agri-trading system and Agri-produced supply chain management (Abdullah & Hossain, 2013).

Farias are the collectors they do business on a small scale with self-financed and sometimes financed by friends or family. They purchase crops from farmers and supply to Beparis and Aratdar (Hasan and Naim, 2018). Beparis are the professional traders who purchase crops in large quantities from farmers and Farias and supply to the wholesaler and retailer. They are the final crop selling destination and perform major functions in product transportation. Sometimes, they also help farmers with small loans. Aratdars are the commission agent or brokers. They connect Beparis with retailers responsible for supplying and transporting crops in long-distance destinations. Miller are the cereal crop processor. They purchase crops from Aratdar/Beparis and sell the processed products to the Aratdar and wholesalers. Retailers are end sellers of the crops. They sell in small quantities to the consumers (Rahman and Neena, 2018; Hasan and Naim, 2018; Sultana et al., 2017).

Farmers cannot earn fair price for their produced crops (Islam, 2019). One of the reasons is that farmers are facing constraints affecting production in some lagging zones of Bangladesh because of the natural calamities and inept policies taken by the government (Quddus and Kropp, 2020). Furthermore, farmers face a variety of challenges that confined their access to the market (Hoq et al., 2021). Likewise, other barriers to agriculture production are the socio-technical and environmental challenges that adversely impact the farmers’ production level. Lack of modern technology use and poor management practices refer to the socio-technical barrier to the inadequate irrigation system. The environmental barriers are the reduction of soil fertility and increasing salinity, drought, and heavy rainfall (Biswas et al., 2021). Here, the agriculture service that provides timely relevant information can assist farmers to be aware of any environmental hazards and make better decisions on their cultivations (Kassem et al., 2021; Davis et al., 2020). Though Agricultural information services provide different kinds of technical training and different kind of information regarding climate and weather but do not provide any information regarding market and Agri-produced price information. Due to the low level of literacy, most farmers are not able to understand the dynamics of agricultural marketing (Quddus and Kropp, 2020).