NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By VK Vijayakumar

Ashok Gulati, India’s highly respected agricultural economist, described the three farm bills recently passed by Parliament as steps in the right direction that would benefit both farmers and consumers. But there are raging protests by farmers on the streets, particularly in Punjab and Haryana, against these reforms.

Are these farm bills really game-changing reforms? Are the agitations by farmers genuine or politically motivated? Can economics of reform trump politics?

Photo courtesy of Martin Jernberg.