In the emerging environment of a reduced role for the state in agricultural marketing and input supply, it becomes imperative to explore the role of the agricultural markets and the agro processing sector in delivering better value to the farmers.

Agricultural development still remains the most important objective of Indian planning and policy despite various achievements. Due to the opening up of the domestic economy to foreign competition and foreign investment in various sectors including agriculture, there is an increasing concern towards carrying on with the present policies and adopting new ones as there are new restrictionsboth domestic and externalon certain modes of development as against others. There is plenty of distress among farmers both in agriculturally grown as well as backward regions manifested in farmer suicides in many states in the recent past.

The role of institutions in development has been well-recognized in literature. Institutions give shape to resources and their use. The new institutional economics has once again brought to the fore the role of institutions in development. Institutions along with resource endowments and technology are the three major factors in economic development. The institutions include social, cultural, economic, political and legal mechanisms or `rules of the game' which enable, impede or disable individuals, enterprises or communities in what they can do or can't do to improve their well-being (Baumol, 1990). Institutions or organizations play their part in the development process by mobilizing local resources and/or seeing that they are used for concerns that are locally relevant. Indian agriculture has traditionally been dominated by statal and para-statal institutions and organizations, which are known for their failures than their successes. However, due to the onset of an environment of deregulation and international market integration, the agricultural sector in India needs more market-oriented, purpose-specific, and professional organizations and institutions.

environment agricultural marketing, input supply, agricultural markets, agro processing sector, Agricultural development, Indian planning and policy, domestic economy, foreign competition, foreign investment, present policies, domestic, externalon, agriculturally grown, backward regions, farmer suicides, institutions in development, institutional economics, resource endowments, market-oriented, purpose-specific, professional organizations.