ET Awards' Agenda For Renewal 2011: Its time to roll out some big reforms in agriculture

There have been hardly any reforms in agriculture. Marketing laws are out dated, distribution and logistics from the farm gate to the food plate are filled with inefficiencies and corruption. The cost the consumer pays is far too much and the price the farmer gets is far too less. This is why food inflation is high even though monsoons are good, output for food grains, oilseeds, vegetables, pulses, etc are at a record high and agriculture has grown 3-4% in the last couple of years.

There is an elephant in the room, the APMC monopoly, which the government is not acknowledging. (Agriculture Produce Market Committees run by state governments regulate the marketing of farm produce.) Some states have modified or scrapped APMC acts, but many do not allow retailers to buy directly from the farmers.

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