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At the outset let me introduce myself as a businessman dealing in agri products; as such I buy commodities from agriculturists directly and I have also made some money (though only little) in online trading for a short period. No farmer has any idea of online trading and a few of the big farmers who have some fear to operate it as they have been bought up in a conservative fashion and so are not risk-takers.

As a result the farmer is not benefited.

Having experience of commodity trading online, I find that only the speculative-minded people dominate the trade. I feel the country should not expose the farmer to such kind of speculation.

Any farmer faces an uncertain future and is prone to more risk than any kind of business.

Till he realises his money, post-harvest, he is uncertain about the weather, the yield, the quality of output, his likely expenditure to safegauard the crop, and ultimately the realisation price vis-À-vis the yield. On top of this, there is no reason why the farmer should be exposed to speculative risks.

If one looks at the number of buyers and sellers and the quantities at point of time during the trading hours, one will be surprised to note that it is totally irrelevant to that days’ ground reality. The Government should help the farmers by suggesting the right crops to grow, better growing practices, and certainly not expose them to speculation.

C. B. Shivakumar Coimbatore

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