Agricultural Crisis, Farms Laws, and Farmers’ Protest: Reflection on its Rollback and Implication

Abstract

Agriculture has been brought to the forefront of policymaking, parliamentary debate, and political discussions in recent history. India’s Parliament recently voted to scrap agricultural reform laws which came up as a huge victory for the farmers’ movement, who have been protesting for over a year for the rollback of the laws. This farmers’ movement created history at the national and international levels in the present times. The government had passed three farm laws to transform agriculture and increase farmer income without detailed consultations with all stakeholders. This led to protests by the farmer community by blocking roads and highways, calling an All-India Bandh, which attracted public attention and brought weight to the farmer issues, leading to achievement for the ‘Annadatas’ of the country. The article discusses the predicaments of the agriculture sector, the problems of the farmers, critical analysis of the three Farm laws, their implementation, implications and finally, its rollback. The reasons for this move have been examined from the political and economic angle with a reflection on its rollback for the future. JEL Codes: Q18, Q10, Q13, Q15