Abstract
The evolution of high-yielding varieties of seeds, increasing use of fertilizers, pesticides, installation of tube-wells and
mechanization has increased the agricultural productivity (AP). An efficient agricultural marketing (AM) system increases the
growth of agri-business and improves the economic growth. More recently, research has shown that agriculture growth cannot
be realized without well- functioning agricultural produce markets (APMs).In Pakistan, however, development of APMs
largely remained neglected because of overriding emphasis of public policies on enhancing AP. Consequently, APMs could
not be developed adequately and imperfections in the legal structure, management and operations of these markets have limited
their performance. A survey was conducted in nine districts of the Punjab province having interviews with staff of market
committees (MCs-90), commission-agents (CAs-90), whole-sellers (WS-90) and retailers (RT-90). The results reflect that there
is an urgent need for amending legal and institutional mechanism for making APMs efficient. The study will help academia
and policy makers to improve efficiency of APMs in the province.
