Making the agri-marketing reforms work (Financial Express)

Financial Express (India) published an op-ed on former division director (South Asia Office) P K. Joshi and Arabinda K. Padhee. The authors write that agri-marketing reforms have been described as key to harnessing the untapped potential of the farm sector. With enhanced agricultural production and a resultant ‘marketable surplus’ from an increasing number of farm households over the years, liberalizing the existing marketing scenario has long been advocated by farmers’ organizations, think tanks, researchers, and experts. We wish to drive home the fact that state actions are absolutely essential to successfully implementing the ordinances on the ground. For the reforms agenda to reach fruition, a few desirable changes/course corrections should be taken into consideration for discussion in Parliament before the final Acts are shaped. The condition for success is to strengthen farmers through farmer producer organizations or cluster farming at the back-end and incentivize front-end actors (such as e-retail, organized retail and delivery companies, big buyers, processors, and exporters). Agri-tech start-ups can play a meaningful role in all these activities. Republished in MSN (India).