Abstract

                                The net work of rural weekly fairs, facilitating the meeting of producers and consumers, without any financial obligation between themselves, may be said to reduce the chances for middlemen-moneylenders. But the fairs are neither universal, nor important everywhere; and there is little of wholesale trade, particularly in commercial crops, in these fairs-The Central Cotton Committee's recent investigations have revealed that the financial handicaps of growers were far too exaggerated and there is not much of combination of moneylending and trading. But the tracts selected were not all typical and the Committee itself could not accept all the conclusions-holding of produce for better price by the producers is not uncommon in the case of food grains and it is of doubtful utility in the case of commercial crops-Madras has more of agriculturist moneylenders who are not extortionate nor insist on sale of produce of debtors to themselves-The commission shop-keepers in trade centres are increasingly approached by the ryots for advances and though there.

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