Reforming land institutions key to transforming agriculture in the medium to long run
Barun
Transforming agriculture in the medium to long run requires fundamental reforms in land institutions as well. This is what is missing in the new high powered committee's terms of reference.
Written by Ashok Gulati, Ritika Juneja |
Updated: August 19, 2019
Two fundamental reasons make it imperative that urgency is accorded to the liberalisation of land lease markets. One, the size of the average holding has been declining in India for long. This raises questions about the economic viability of such tracts, especially since they do not provide a respectable income to farmers.
Two, restrictive tenancy laws have generated oral (informal) tenancy that is said to be much higher than formal tenancy in magnitude. This is adversely impacting land-use efficiency. As per official records (NSSO, 2012-13), only about 10 per cent of agricultural land is under tenancy, down from 20 per cent in 1953-54.