Tackling farm distress

Income generation needs market-based solutions

The genesis of the farmers’ unending distress, reflected in recurring protests, can be traced to their poor earnings and the government’s failure to provide an appropriate policy response. As agricultural prices are rising less than others, rural wages are depressed. And analysts have suggested that 70 per cent of India's recent disinflation has been led by the fall in rural inflation. 

When incomes are low, the demand for some food items such as milk and protein tends to be weak, leading to a fall in their prices. 

Chronic income crunch is pushing farmers into a debt trap, leading to a