Assam Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium

The research team has prioritized a list of recommended infrastructural provisions, arrived at according to their evaluation of the following consideration:

* Preference to infrastructure that would positively impact trading/movement of
produce.

* Cost effectiveness and sustainability of infrastructure over a long period of
time.

Drainage emerges as a top priority in all haats followed closely by earth filling as a second most priority. Toilets come next. Respecting socio-cultural orthodoxy, male and female toilets should be located away from each other. Though overnight storage and stay are ranked 9 & 10 on the priority list, they are a must for daily haats (predominantly wholesale markets) for reasons explained earlier. Electricity and telephone come in at the end because most haats are day events (electricity not essential) and use of telephones is limited to traders, wherever available. The benefit that are expected to accrue from the improve infrastructure facilities are explained below:

Priority	Infrastructure	Benefit
1st	Drainage	Will avoid water logging and allow business to continue even on rainy days by enabling visitors to walk conveniently
2nd	Earth Filling	Raising the ground level will aid drainage thereby preventing water logging
3rd	Urinal/Toilets	Toilets will avoid the unhealthy practice of urinating and defecating in the open.
4th	Sheds	Will provide protection to sellers and their produce from rain and sun
5th	Raised Platform	Will help to avoid produce from getting wet during monsoons and also ease loading and unloading of goods on to vehicles
6th	Cycle Stand	Once cycles are parked in the stand it will reduce crowding within the haat and increase walking space and help in transacting business smoothly
7th	Drinking Water for Humans	Considering that sellers sit all day at the haat and visitors too spend hour shopping, safe drinking water is a basic necessity and must be provided at the haat
8th	Drinking Water for Animals	At cattle haat drinking water provision for animals is equally essential.
9th	Overnight Storage	Farmers and traders can keep their produce safely for sale the next day. In the absence of this facility sellers resort to distress dale towards the end of the day and talking unsold goods back involves transport cost.
10th	Overnight Stay	At more frequently held haats having higher wholesaling activity it would help both wholesale and sellers if they had the facility to stay overnight to continue transacting business the next day.
11th	Electricity	Electricity (lighting) would aid very early morning fish haats and haats that continue late into the evening. Lighting will extend business hours and thereby business volume should grow.
12th	Telephones	Communication is essential to bring trades to the haat and helps relay prices of different commodities. Haats should be provided with telephone connection (landline or WLL)

In addition to the list prioritized above there were several other suggestions that came up as part of the discussion with the respondents. These are listed bellow list and can considered at a later date, after implementing the first infrastructure priority list.