Artificial scarcity of agricultural produce is often caused by the following marketing agents except

The correct answer is farmers. Artificial scarcity of agricultural produce is a situation where the supply of agricultural produce is deliberately reduced to increase its price. This can be caused by marketing agents such as wholesalers, middlemen, and co-operatives who control the distribution channels of the agricultural produce. These agents can hoard the produce or create artificial shortages by manipulating the market. However, farmers are not usually involved in creating artificial scarcity because it goes against their interests. Farmers want to sell their produce at a fair price and maximize their profits by selling as much as they can. Therefore, farmers are not typically the cause of artificial scarcity.