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    It may be recalled that the one-man Committee headed by Shri P.P. Prabhu, formerly Commerce Secretary, was set up in October, 2000, in order to undertake an in-depth study of the Commodity Boards, including review of the existing structure and activities of these Boards and giving his suggestions on the conceptualisation of a price stabilisation fund for the commodities in the present day context.

    The Committee in its report has covered the working of the various Boards and Authorities in charge of the respective commodities and products like tea, coffee, rubber, spices, marine products, and agricultural and processed food products. Apart from general recommendations covering the interests of all the commodities, the Committee has also made a number of suggestions and recommendations specific to each of the products in its report. Some of the major recommendations of the Committee are:

• The organisation of the Boards, as have evolved over the years, would need to undergo changes gradually, if the plantation sector has to effectively meet the emerging challenges and demands.
• Development activity has to continue as an important function of the Boards and the Boards will have to move in the direction of harnessing the communication and computing technologies for providing better extension services to the growers and other stakeholders.
• A change in the mandate and the functions of the Boards may be necessary in the light of the liberalisation policy initiatives of the Government and the developments in the commodity sector and in the economy. The Boards will have to move away from controls to complete deregulation; the emphasis has to shift from mere development and production to competitiveness. The incentive-based approach should give way to capacity building, information and education. The Boards would need to withdraw from many activities and rather than being providers of services, become facilitators.
• The auction rules and procedures governing tea and coffee auction systems require to be revamped.
• To improve the quality of service in commodities sectors, the Boards must concentrate on research, productivity improvement, training of labour, improvement of cooperative and other bodies of growers, particularly training of the small growers.
• Market development will hereafter be a knowledge-based activity and the Boards may have to outsource some of these tasks in the interest of better export performance.
• The Boards operate many schemes for a number of years and some of these are overlapping. Some of these Schemes need to be phased out except those laying emphasis on quality improvement and enhancement of productivity.
• The Boards will have to encourage private service providers and increasingly adopt participatory approach in extension. The Boards will have to become a facilitator and emerge as knowledge centres.
• To improve quality of service, the trade information service has to be improved.
• The Commodity Boards will have to establish standards for all products and work towards harmonisation of standards with international standards. Special Schemes have to be worked out to encourage the cultivation of organic products and take advantage of increasing demand for these products in the international markets.

    The recommendations of the Committee will be examined by the Ministry while simultaneously eliciting the views and comments of the Boards, representatives of the growers, industry and trade.