Agriculture

The determination of factors influencing income from crop production remains crucial in understanding and mitigating stagnation in agricultural income. However, the calculation of income from cultivation is difficult owing to a dearth of available data on costs causing studies to rely on policies or indicators that generate biases. This paper uses field survey data from eight villages in Bihar to identify the determinants of crop income. It explores different aspects of agrarian production processes to identify two major groups of crop income determinants: the extensive margin and the intensive margin.

New challenges on the trade front call for a radical restructuring of policies.

The rice area in India has shown a mild shift, both temporally and spatially—from the rain-fed eastern belt to the drier north-west, served by controlled irrigation—despite a declining trend of rainfall observed in both the regions. The shift is part of the broader changes in land use.

Odisha is predominantly an agrarian economy. Around 50% of the state’s population fully or partially depends on agriculture and allied activities for their livelihood. Any reforms in the existing agricultural marketing system could benefit the people to a greater extent. The current study is undertaken to analyse the impact of the Electronic National Agriculture Market on market arrival and price of the commodities in the selected Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees, and on the incomes of the farmers. It also highlights the difficulties by farmers to market their agricultural produce. Findings of the study show that e-NAM is still at a nascent stage in the state. The government needs to focus on infrastructural development, providing training to farmers, and research and development activities for better functioning and benefits of e-NAM.

This article analyses the issue of extending minimum support price coverage to major food crops. Given the utility of public procurement and buffer stocks during the previous crises, MSP procurement may be continued for rice and wheat but a shift to direct payments is needed for non-staple crops.