The biggest reform, or a farce in 3 Acts?

Context: The three recent major reforms by the government to transform the agriculture sector demands a proper accountability framework to achieve enhanced productivity and livelihoods.

The Three reforms:

1. Amendmending  Essential Commodities Act 1955: Freeing the prices of cereals, pulses, oilseed, edible oils, onion, and potatoes from stock limits.
2. Freedom to sell crops: to anyone, anywhere which was previously restricted by Agriculture Produce Market committee through Mandi system.
3. Allowing corporate farming: to farmers by engaging with processors, wholesalers, aggregators, large retailer sand exporters which will help them in getting capital and technology.

Need for such reforms in the Agriculture Sector.

• It contributes 16% of GDP and supports 61% of the people.
• Lack of sustainable value chains in the food business: Disorganised and fragmented value chains
• Huge frictional costs of doing business.

• Agriculture is a state subject: restricts the center’s involvement in designing effective policies.

• Opportunities:

• Large food market: At a global scale food market is much bigger than the services market.

• A farmer in Up gets Rs 4-5 a kilo for potatoes, while it is sold at the price of Rs110/ kg in Europe.
• Getting the produce right and open overseas markets are beneficial for Indian trade.

• Use of technology: to integrate fragmented landholdings and distributing the inputs through proper distribution logistics.

Way Forward:

• Design iron-clad contacts: to minimize disputes and achieve quick redressal, easily, and inexpensively to avoid discouragement to private players.
• Involve the private sector: in line with NITI Aayog’s efforts to select some states for pilot projects to get on board big business groups to create an infrastructure of real-time and reliable price discovery.

• Competition: to get the most modern technology at Indian costs, fulfilling the ultimate vision of connecting the Indian farmer to the global market. 
• Positive feedback loops: developed to ensure sensible course corrections.

• Single person accountability: to reach a measurable milestone over due course of time.