All Events / South Asia Series 

The Future of Indian Farming

Mar 23. 5:00 PM. Sudha Narayanan, Economist and research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in New Delhi, “The Future of Indian Farming.”  https://www.ifpri.org/profile/sudha-narayanan

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Abstract: Globally, farms are growing larger leaving fewer small farms than ever before. India bucks this trend, as farms grow smaller in size with each decade and farmers with holdings less than a hectare, account for a rising share of all farmers. Recent evidence makes it clear that farming no longer offers an exclusive source of livelihood for Indian farmers. Many have joined the ranks of the “functionally landless” or “landed labor”.  Additionally, agriculture faces the crisis of climate change and environmental degradation. This trend has led to calls for deep reform of Indian agriculture. These involve suggestions to allow consolidation of farms, liberalization of input and output markets, policies to promote the exit of small farmers, to enhance productivity of farms to help Indian farmers become competitive in the global markets. Recent policies such as the controversial farm laws, land acquisition acts, digital technology policies are examples of this effort. Undergirding these recommendations is a belief that agriculture is a problem and needs to employ fewer people. This lecture interrogates this view of structural transformation of the economy and will attempt to provide a broad perspective of farming futures in India. In particular, it will focus on Indian agriculture’s trilemma – how can the sector be economically viable, while also being environmentally and socially sustainable?

 March 23, 2022 

Time: 5:00 PM

Presenter: Sudha Narayanan

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Global Asia Program