-CaravanMagazine.in In the cover story of The Caravan’s March 2021 issue, “Mandi, Market and Modi,” Hartosh Singh Bal reported about the Indian government’s efforts to remake India’s agricultural economy for large private players. In the following excerpt from the story, Bal traces the infrastructure that the Adani group have already built to store, transport and market agricultural produce. There has been considerable conversation around what the entry of private buyers in procurement...

-The Indian Express The Central government has fixed the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat at Rs 1975 per quintal, hiking it by Rs 50 from last year’s Rs 1925 per quintal. Chandigarh: Ahead of the wheat procurement that starts from April 10 in the state, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday cleared a sum of Rs 21,658.73 crore towards Cash Credit Limit (CCL) up to end April, 2021 for...

-CaravanMagazine.in In 2006, the Bihar government deregulated the agricultural sector, and largely removed government oversight over Food grain procurement. Previously a majority of Food grain procurement happened through the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, a marketing board run by the state government that would organise mandis—wholesale markets—where farmers could directly sell their produce to the Food Corporation of India or the State Farming Corporation at the established minimum support price. The MSP...

-Vikalpind.in Much of the discourse on the three farm laws are influenced by certain prevailing myths about Indian agriculture and the food situation in the country within the academic and policy-making circles. First, there is a common perception, propagated by the ruling establishment, that India is a ‘food surplus’ nation, particularly with respect to cereals. Our farmers have allegedly over-produced cereals due to the MSP-based government support system. Secondly, any removal...

-TheWire.in Due to cultural reasons, India has a relatively small market for processed foods, and a number of factors afflict the food processing industry. In the light of recent farmer protests, there have been apprehensions that corporates will develop a monopoly over agricultural markets, purchase large quantities of cereals at cheaper prices and sell processed products made from them at very high prices. These apprehensions do not seem very plausible in the near...