Context: Ailing Indian agriculture with high turnover rate is in the dire need of Union and State initiated reforms.
Problems of Indian Agriculture
94% of farmers lack access to regulated markets.
40% of farm produce is grown by tenant farmers.
Land fragmentation and Inefficient credit delivery system.
India’s farm and food policies have an urban bias.
Amending Essential Commodities Act (ECA): will not solve the issue as government plans to remove food items from the ECA list, but not petrol and diesel.
Way Forward
Removing poverty in India is synonymous with improving the lot of Indian farmers.
Reforms in industry and services and increasing share of manufacturing in India’s gross domestic product (25%) will improve state of agriculture too.
Prioritise state initiated farm policies (agriculture is a state subject) over National Farm policies.
Need of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees act (APMCs) for better price discovery and increasing farmer’s access to regulated markets.
Credit delivery to tenant farmers: to the farmerswho don’t own the land, required for collateral based loans.
Ensure of land consolidation through land pooling with help of farmer producer companies.
Way Forward
The plight of and shackles around Indian agriculture can be solved with emergence of local solution and help from the center and states.