Article Title: The Middleman Gap in Indian Agri Supply Chains

Farmers and urban consumers often have sharply different views of vegetable prices: growers may receive too little, while buyers may feel they are paying too much. This paper examines why that difference arises by reviewing published Indian research on the share of the consumer’s payment that reaches producers, the factors that reduce this share, and possible solutions. The available evidence shows considerable variation across commodities and marketing channels. In a national survey, farmers received between less than one-third and nearly four-fifths of the consumer rupee, while some short channels yielded shares close to 90%. Extended marketing chains, inadequate storage, and limited farmer bargaining power tend to reduce producer returns, particularly for perishable goods. Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) have shown encouraging results, whereas evidence on electronic markets such as e-NAM remains mixed. The paper concludes with practical implications for agribusiness managers seeking to develop supply chains that are both efficient and equitable.

Keywords: Price spread, agricultural marketing, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), e-NAM, post-harvest losses, cold chain, Indian Agricultural Supply Chains.