A reform for the future

Context: New farm laws will usher in modern practices in agriculture

Challenges with agriculture: necessitating reforms –

• Trapped in the past:
  • Production of crops is lopsided, and distribution is even more skewed, leading to overproduction of wheat and rice.
  • Fruit, lentils and vegetable production is less than our requirement.
  • Not using science, modern machines and satellite images for data analysis.
• Starved of capital and bereft of start-ups.
• Demand and supply cycle is ignored: As paddy and wheat farmers know, the government will buy their produce irrespective of the demand.
• Decreasing contribution of agriculture to Gross domestic product (GDP): At present, only 17 %.
• Low productivity: India produces four times fewer crops than the United States; China has less arable land than India but produces three times more crops than us.
• Degradation of available resources: 40% of our arable land is afflicted with degradation and infertility.
  • Our water management system is outdated and uses many underground water, causing the water table to deplete fast.

Reasons to support farm reforms:

• Suggested by experts: E.g. M S Swaminathan Committee recommended for reforms.
• Already late for reforms: China began its farm reforms in 1980.
• Apprehensions regarding private participation are not true: Big private players are already operating in the agriculture sector, and contract farming is done through the “E-Choupal” scheme.

Conclusion: The new farm reforms shall be a beginning for remodelling the entire agricultural system to serve the farming community's interest.