DECENTRALIZATION IN AGRICULTURAL MARKETING--CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES.

The article discusses the effects of decentralization in agricultural marketing at the time of publication. According to the author, there is a general trend taking place in which farm produce is ceasing to pass through central markets before reaching consumers and is beginning to move directly from farmers to retailers. The author notes that innovations in transportation were a major cause of this change. The advent and spread of high speed trucks and concrete highways are reducing the costs of transportation and enabling the short-haul of goods to markets.