Anjani Kumar

Ashok K. Mishra

Pramod K. Joshi

Debates about public expenditure in the agricultural sector have reopened in many developing and emerging economies because of high budget deficits and changes in public opinion. As a result, agricultural policy in many of these countries is beginning to take a more market-oriented approach to agrarian problems, most notably through the introduction of contract farming. This book explores the policy issues around contract farming and its transformative potential and addresses the lack of empirical research on this topic by focusing on South Asia: principally India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The book first addresses the effects of contract farming (vertical coordination) on productivity, food security indicators (yield, consumption expenditures, prices), employment and input usage. Then it draws lessons from the South Asian case studies on the impact of institutional changes, like contract farming, on income and food security of smallholder households. The core of the book includes case study chapters on several commodities that are produced under contract farming, including vegetables and fisheries in Bangladesh, low-value crops in Nepal and coffee in India. Other chapters also explore contracts, storage, input usage and technical efficiency in these cases. This book serves as an essential guide to academics, researchers, students, legislative liaisons and think tank groups interested in agrarian issues, agricultural economics and agricultural policy in emerging economies and particularly in South Asia.

The Role of Value Chains and Contract Farming

Transforming Agriculture in South Asia

Seema Bathla

Pramod Kumar Joshi

This book provides a blueprint for the allocation of public expenditures “in” and “for” agriculture at the dis-aggregated state level and suggests a reorientation in favour of disadvantaged regions where the marginal returns on additional investments would be higher. It provides insights into the inter-linkages between public expenditures, private investment, rural poverty, and agriculture productivity from a regional perspective to reflect upon spatial differences in the welfare effects of various investments, subsidies, and policies. The book focuses on agricultural growth and rural poverty reduction through public and private investments, non-farm employment, and other pathways to the formulation of appropriate policies at the dis-aggregated state level. It presents new evidence based on advanced econometric tools for analysing and understanding the relationship between public and private investments in agriculture and input subsidies (fertilizer, power, irrigation, and credit) together with their impacts at the dis-aggregated state level. The book also deliberates on an income based direct support system for farmers as an alternative to the existing input price subsidy regime. Accordingly, the book offers valuable insights not only for researchers working on poverty alleviation, rural economy, and agricultural growth, but also for policymakers.

Anjani Kumar

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