Despite decades of policy interventions, a majority of Indian farmers have not seen their incomes rise. Farmers with small or marginal holdings, who make up around two-thirds of all farmers, find themselves prey to indebtedness, a lack of choice in inputs, and underdeveloped warehousing and processing facilities.

Many policies that previous Governments have framed ostensibly to protect farmers, have added to the distress in the sector by granting farmers little or no control over anything in agriculture.

Three “farm laws” were passed in 2020 aimed at improving the situation. These are:   

    The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce(Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020;
    The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and
    The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020

These acts received some backlash and opposition. As a result, the Supreme Court formed a committee to assess these laws. This submission was made to the committee on February 19 2021. It argues that these laws, while not perfect, are extremely beneficial. They increase the number of market channels, formalise contract farming, and encourage investment in warehousing