Everyone asks the same question first:

“Rate kya hai?”

They ask it in villages.

They ask it in offices.

They ask it on WhatsApp before even asking what quality.

And yet, price is never just a number.

It is a compressed story — of expectations, fear, timing, power, and trust.

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The illusion of the “right price”

Most procurement systems behave as if:

• there is one correct price,

• discoverable through mandi data,

• adjustable with a premium,

• and acceptable to everyone if explained well.

This illusion breaks the moment reality enters.

Because the “right price” depends on:

• when you ask,

• who is asking,

• what else is happening in the farmer’s life,

• and how payment will actually arrive.

A number printed on a rate sheet does not capture this.

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A tomato has many prices — on the same day

It’s March, near Naraina.

Raju harvested tomatoes at 5 a.m.

By 7 a.m., he has three options:

1. Go to mandi — uncertain rates, but immediate sale

2. Sell to a local trader — lower rate, instant cash

3. Wait for a “direct buyer” — higher promise, delayed clarity

Each option has a different price, even before negotiation begins.

The tomato hasn’t changed.

The context has.

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Why mandi prices confuse more than they help

Mandi prices are treated like truth.

In reality, they are:

• averages,

• reported late,

• quality-mixed,

• and often gamed.

Yet buyers quote them selectively:

“Aaj mandi mein itna hi bhaav hai.”

Farmers hear:

“Your effort is worth less today.”

Neither side is fully wrong.

Both are incomplete.

Governance demands that mandi prices be treated as reference points, not verdicts.

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Premium is not a reward. It is a responsibility.

Few words are abused more than premium.

Premium is offered for:

• better quality,

• certification,

• loyalty,

• consistency,

• or ethics.

But a premium also creates expectations:

• of continuity,

• of fairness,

• of respect during downturns.

Paying premium in good times and disappearing in bad times is not strategy.

It is extraction.

A premium without governance becomes a future conflict.

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Milk teaches price humility

Milk procurement exposes price truth brutally.

Rates are:

• fixed,

• visible,

• and publicly discussed.

When rates change:

• farmers feel it immediately,

• loyalty shifts quickly,

• and systems destabilise.

Milk systems that survive do one thing well:

They treat price as a relationship, not a transaction.

Vegetable and animal buyers often forget this — until volumes vanish.

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The hidden questions behind “rate kya hai?”

When a farmer asks for the rate, they are also asking:

• Will you pay on time?

• Will you reject arbitrarily?

• Will you change terms mid-way?

• Will you disappear next season?

Price becomes shorthand for trust.

Answering only with a number misses the conversation entirely.

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Timing distorts price more than quality

A mediocre crop sold early can fetch more than a good crop sold late.

Why?

• distress accumulates,

• options collapse,

• urgency discounts value.

• Governance must recognise this:

Price fairness is inseparable from decision timing.

Late buyers often believe they are being “market-aligned.”

In reality, they are benefitting from pressure they did not create — but choose to exploit.

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When transparency hurts — and still matters

Transparent pricing can be painful.

It exposes:

• margins,

• inefficiencies,

• and uncomfortable truths.

But opacity costs more.

When farmers don’t understand pricing logic:

• suspicion grows,

• rumours spread,

• and trust evaporates.

A conversation, even if uncomfortable, stabilises relationships.

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Price without payment terms is half a lie

A price quoted without clarity on:

• payment cycle,

• deductions,

• penalties,

• and dispute handling,

is not a price.

It is an invitation to conflict.

Farmers discount delayed money instinctively — even if they don’t say it.

Governance insists that price and payment be spoken in the same breath.

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Why “best price” is the wrong goal

Chasing the “best price” creates a race to the bottom:

• buyers chase margins,

• farmers chase promises,

• and relationships become disposable.

Sustainable procurement chases something else:

Predictable, explainable, repeatable pricing.

Not the highest.

Not the lowest.

But the most honest.

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A simple price governance test

Before quoting a price, ask:

“Would I still defend this price if roles were reversed — and the situation worsened?”

If the answer is uncomfortable,

the conversation is incomplete.

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What comes next

Once price is discussed, another question immediately follows:

“Is this going to be accepted?”

That takes us into rejection — the most emotionally charged moment in procurement.

Which is where we go next.