Pending agri reform

Legalisation of land leasing will help rural poor

Even though the government’s recent game-changing moves to open up agricultural marketing and formalise contract farming are being likened by some to the economic liberalisation of 1991, the process of agricultural reforms is far from complete. A critical big-ticket land sector reform — the legalisation on land leasing — is still pending. Besides, analysts have noticed some loopholes in the reforms-oriented Ordinances, which need to be addressed to enable them to deliver the desired results. Fortunately, the task at hand is not too difficult. The issues concerning the Ordinances can be taken care of in the laws to be passed