The government of Narendra Modi is pushing through reforms to make Indian agriculture more market-oriented, but it has become a huge political fight within the country. Since independence, agriculture in India has been largely about government control of supply and thus the price received by hundreds of millions of poor farmers. The Essential Commodities Act restricted supply and forced marketing through a system of middlemen (mandis) that too often have involved corruption.  Now three separate pieces of legislation, the Farmers Produce, Trade and Commerce bill, Empowerment and Protection Agreement on Price Assurance, and Farm Services provisions, would, among other things, allow farmers to negotiate production and prices separately,...

TAGS – India