Tempe Marketing Channel Analysis
The Tempe Marketing Channel (TMCA) is the main economic development agency and research and consultation arm of the agro-food manufacturing hub of Finland. It has been responsible for implementing several policies aimed at boosting agricultural production and facilitating the growth of small farmers in the country. In this respect, the policies have facilitated the growth of small farmers as well as encouraging the entry of new and foreign direct buyers into the market. As a result, the demand for agricultural produce in Finland has increased dramatically over the last few years. As a result, the country has emerged as one of the world leaders in terms of food exports.
Agriculture has been one of the pillars of Finland’s economy for many years now. Irrespective of the fact that farming is considered to be a secondary source of income for the national economy, it continues to provide a huge contribution to the national economy. The strength of the farming sector can be gauged from the fact that the per capita production of agriculture is much higher than the production of other industries. This means that agricultural production makes up almost a fifth of the total gross domestic product (GDP) of Finland. The strong economic position of the farming sector is further bolstered by the fact that the farming sector accounts for more employment than any other industry.
In terms of agriculture, two policy instruments have been adopted by the government to strengthen the position of the farming sector. These are the Policy for Single Parent Farms and Policy for Family farms. The first policy has been designed to increase access to agricultural land to families through public policy. The second aims at enhancing the productivity of the farming sector by diversifying the use of the same agricultural land.
There has been considerable improvement in the utilization of agricultural lands as various farming operations have been made more efficient by these policy instruments. An analysis of the current farm marketing situation reveals that there are still areas that require expansion in terms of rice production. It is in such areas that the Tempe Marketing Corporation plays a decisive role, with its investments in upgrading the processing infrastructure, as well as in improving the quality of the rice production.
With regard to the demand side, an analysis of the demand for farm produce shows that Finland has one of the highest levels of food demand in the European Union. Demand for food is highly dependent on factors such as per capita GDP, duration of unemployment rate and consumption level of food, both of which tend to be high in countries such as Finland. Consumption of farm produce is highly profitable for the farmer, who therefore has a lot of incentive to increase production. A major factor behind this incentive is the government’s policies encouraging rural development.
An analysis of the distribution and sale of farm products highlights the extent to which farm marketing policies are abused. For example, in order to increase the value of their agricultural produce farmers over-utilize barns and storage spaces. This causes excessive wastage of manpower and also leads to higher fuel costs. Other forms of abuse include the introduction of additional policies such as payment of royalty for each ton of grain sold and the setting up of payment channels such as customs-weighted tariffs. The introduction of policy instruments such as the MGA and OPI also increases the scope for abuse.
The overall performance of the farm management team is also assessed through this procedure. The process of analysis also includes an evaluation of farm debt to revenue, farm productivity, farm turnover and the farming fund. The MGA and OPI policies of the Finnish government are another important factor of evaluation, with the former aiming at maintaining the competitiveness of the agricultural economy, while the latter aiming at reducing farm dependence on imported goods.
Tempe Marketing Channel Analysis
A successful farm marketing strategy should therefore take into consideration not only the farmer but the market, the climatic conditions and the distribution channels. Effective farm marketing involves the use of several marketing tools such as marketing order forms, marketing catalogues, farm sales information posters and price quotations. These tools are used in a way that they influence farm consumers to buy a particular product. Therefore, farmers should also be able to improve their advertising and marketing strategies according to the demands of the market and customers’ preferences.