Rural Finance and Rural Marketing in Modern times
Rural finance, rural marketing
and agribusiness are the part of rural economy. Finance is the blood of any
sector or whole economy. Without any effective financial system, the economy of
country cannot survive. When it comes the rural economy, further deep analysis
of system is required.
Rural Finance lies in the form of
cash, credit, holding financial assests, land, invested in commodities like god
silver, precious stones, live stock and lives in various other forms. The
concept of liability sharing or collective sharing through insurance is yet to
be taken up by rural masses but it is very much already in system through joint
family system or through social cohesiveness.
In modern times we call it
unorganised system of finance but it is the social value system which is already
acting there since centuries. Now days it is called social security but in
rural system it is the social obligation which was already there in system.
The rural finance is used for
productive and unproductive activities.
In productive activities as we all know the production of crops,
livestock products, construction of physical assets which further improves the
productivity and so on. On non productive side it is considered in investment
to meet the medical expenses, performing various rituals, marriages and social
events etc. But they are not totally the unproductive activities. This finance
is also reinvested in economy through employment generation and demand of
finished products or services.
The infusion of capital in rural
economy through state expenditure or by organised finance through banks, financial
institutions or through unorganised sector is more important. This can be done
by proper ground level education to the rural masses and by providing them opportunities
through hand holding experiences and improved financial regulation system.
Rural marketing on other hand is
also a very crucial subject. Generally marketing is the process of providing
the product or services to the end user and its feedback to the producer. But
in rural marketing context the second part is almost absent. Marketing of rural
inputs like finance, services, agriculture inputs, technology, machinery,
insurance and its output whether it is a product or service is very challenging
in large rural economy.
Earlier the rural Marketing was
also a part of social value system, but now it is segregated in individual fields.
To meet the marketing needs of these individual fields, arrangement of special
resources like trained Manpower, finances, logistics, extension services is
also a greater challenge due to wide geographies, different languages, beliefs
etc.
These challenges should be
treated as the limitation but can be considered as diversity as one system of
rural marketing is already working there, merely the productivity of existing
system can be enhanced by first understanding the rural marketing system then designing
the adoptive productivity enhancing tools. Information technology and
telecommunication system can play a game
changing role in rural finance and rural marketing system.
