Ensure no trading takes place below MSP (Tribune)

Tribune (India) published an article on the new set of reforms that are encouraging corporatization, with big business moving into agriculture, storage, and marketing. As the experience of US/Europe shows, when unregulated markets become dominant, small farmers are the first to be pushed out of agriculture. IFPRI-South Asia Region states ‘move up or move out’. For several decades, mainline economists in India had been arguing on similar lines. Numerous committees and reports had pointed to the need to move towards market-friendly agriculture. Minimum Support Price (MSP) was named the culprit, coming in the way of real price discovery. In one form or the other, the emphasis had been on dismantling the vast network of Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)-regulated mandis in Punjab and Haryana. Republished in Ground Reality