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Institutional Alternatives
and Governance of Agriculture
In the introductory chapter "Overview of governance issues in Indian agriculture," Vishwa Ballabh and K. Prathap Reddy examine the scope of good governance in agriculture which can be understood only with a picture of the changing agrarian structure. Greater emphasis has to be given to peoples’ participation, transparency, accountability and responsiveness. Growth alongwith social justice can be attained with new institutional structures. The author has arranged 12 chapters topic-wise and further grouped them into four related areas to highlight macro issues faced by the agriculture sector. G.S. Bhalla’s paper "Governance issues in agriculture poverty and agricultural development" tries to establish relationship between the agricultural development and poverty reduction. The author remarks that in the post-liberalisation period, neglect of public investment in rural infrastructure has led to steep decceleration in agricultural growth. In the chapter, "Globalisation and Indian agriculture: Performance under a new paradigm", R.S. Deshpande and M. Indira raise governance and analytical issues with regard to the impact of globalisation on the agrarian economy. In "Prices and subsidies" S.S. Acharya and R.L. Jogi analyse the farm input subsidies in agriculture and its related issues. The author has argued that the input subsidies should not be looked merely from the financial angle but for their overall role in food security and agricultural development. In "Role of state in agricultural prices in liberalised era", Ramesh Chand critically examines the various issues relating to the government interventions in agricultural prices. The author suggests continuing of minimum support price with a view to reform its basis and coverage. Suresh Pal and Dayanatha Jha in "Public-private partnership in agricultural R&D challenges and prospects" have argued that the private sector can play an important role in research and development. The public and private sectors can come together to articulate R&D needs and post their resources to address them in a partnership mode. In ‘From Technology Development and Dissemination to Learning Approaches: Institutional Change for Rural Development’, Rajeswari S. Raina and Rasheed Sulaman V. argue for a shift in dissemination of approaches to learning approaches. A platform for learning is the pre-condition for successful technological and institutional innovations. Increasing private sector presence in Indian agriculture research and extension has created much apprehension on the accessibility of technologies and the knowledge generated through research. P. K. Joshi and P.S. Birthal analyse how contract farming, by overcoming market imperfections, can benefit the smallholders in terms of reduced transaction costs, higher profits and increased employment opportunities. Sukhpal Singh’s article "Agroprocessing industry and agricultural development: New vistas in Indian agribusiness" clearly states the significance of agro-based industries in promoting agricultural development. B S Baviskar, in "Cooperatives in Maharashtra: challenges of stagnation and decline" lays an emphasis on the need to revamp the cooperatives movement in the state. Also highlighted are the issues that have caused a setback and suggest ways to improve the system. G. Sridhar and Vishwa Ballabh critically examine the role of cooperative and corporate institutions in regulating the market in favour of small farmers in "Indian agribusiness institutions for small farmers: role, issue and challenges." The voluntary and democratic nature of the Anand pattern has been highlighted as a role model to be emulated. The essays are informative and innovative in content and can help to initiate further discussion on the governance of agriculture including institutional alternatives. However, as far as governance is concerned, an analysis of the role of Panchayati Raj institutions would have added more dynamism to the topic.
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AT a time, when the
agriculture sector faces numerous challenges, there is a need to develop
strategies for strengthening institutional mechanisms. This will enable
the sector to become more broad based and. Vishwa Ballabh’s edited
volume Institutional Alternatives and Governance of Agriculture
is an attempt to examine the current issues in agriculture and to
identify the role of private, public and cooperative sectors within the
framework of new governance.