Agricultural Policy Reforms and Farmer Welfare in India

Journal of Research and Development A Multidisciplinary International Level Referred and Double Blind Peer Reviewed, Open Access ISSN : 2230-9578 | Website: https://jrdrvb.org Volume-17, Issue-9(VIII)| September 2025 35 Agricultural Policy Reforms and Farmer Welfare in India Sonali Atmaram Kasbe Department of Commerce New Arts, Commerce and Science College, Ahilyanagar (Autonomous) Manuscript ID: JRD -2025-170908 ISSN: 2230-9578 Volume 17 Issue 9 (VIII) Pp. 35-38 Sept. 2025 Submitted:15 Aug. 2025 Revised: 25 Aug. 2025 Accepted: 10 Sept. 2025 Published: 30 Sept. 2025 Abstract Agriculture remains the foundation of India’s rural economy, sustaining more than half of the workforce and ensuring national food security. In the past decade, the Government of India has introduced wide-ranging policy reforms aimed at transforming agriculture from a subsistence sector into a sustainable, market-linked, and climate-resilient enterprise. This paper examines the evolution and performance of key reforms—Minimum Support Price (MSP) policy, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Kisan Credit Card (KCC), and market liberalization measures—and evaluates their combined effect on farmer welfare. Using secondary data from 2016 to 2025, evaluation reports, and government dashboards, the research analyses outcomes in income security, risk mitigation, credit access, and inclusion. Implementation challenges such as data gaps, delays, and regional inequality are also explored. The study concludes that sustainable welfare requires not isolated schemes but a coherent policy bundle integrating price assurance, risk protection, credit, infrastructure, and participatory governance. Keywords: Agricultural policy, farmer welfare, MSP, PM-KISAN, PMFBY, KCC, market reforms, India Introduction Agriculture is central to India’s socio-economic framework. Although its share in GDP has declined to about 18 percent, nearly half of India’s population depends on it for livelihood. The sector faces persistent structural challenges—small and fragmented landholdings, monsoon dependency, weak infrastructure, high post-harvest losses, and limited bargaining power. Farmers’ incomes are highly volatile because of fluctuating yields and prices. Policy reform in agriculture has thus served multiple goals: ensuring remunerative prices, providing liquidity and insurance, enabling timely credit, improving market access, and promoting resilience against climate change. The decade 2016–2025 marks a paradigm shift with greater use of digital technology, direct benefit transfers (DBT), and participatory governance. The government’s focus has moved from input subsidies toward direct income support and risk management instruments. However, reforms have not been uniform across states. Variations in capacity, infrastructure, and political priorities have produced uneven outcomes. The 2020–21 farm-law episode underscored the importance of consultation, transparency, and trust in policy design. This study therefore investigates the trajectory of reforms, their outcomes, and the lessons for future policymaking. Objectives of the Study 1. To document the major agricultural policy reforms in India (2016–2025). 2. To assess the impact of these reforms on farmer income, risk mitigation, and inclusion. 3. To analyse the operational challenges that constrain welfare outcomes. 4. To identify good practices and propose a sequenced roadmap for sustainable agricultural development. Research Methodology The paper follows a qualitative descriptive method supported by quantitative secondary data. Sources include: Quick Response Code: Website: https://jrdrvb.org/ DOI: Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work noncommercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations ae licensed under the idential terms. Address for correspondence: Sonali Atmaram Kasbe, Department of Commerce,New Arts, Commerce and Science College, Ahilyanagar (Autonomous) How to cite this article: Sonali Atmaram Kasbe (2025). Agricultural Policy Reforms and Farmer Welfare in India. Journal of Research & Deveopment, 17(9), 35-38 Original Article Journal of Research and Development A Multidisciplinary International Level Referred and Double Blind Peer Reviewed, Open Access ISSN : 2230-9578 | Website: https://jrdrvb.org Volume-17, Issue-9(VIII)| September 2025 36  Union and state budget documents  Reports from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, NITI Aayog, RBI, and NABARD  Scheme dashboards (PM-KISAN, PMFBY, KCC)  Peer-reviewed articles and evaluation studies Comparative state analysis highlights regional disparities, while a political-economy lens interprets stakeholder incentives and institutional dynamics. The limitation lies in data heterogeneity and difficulty in isolating single-scheme impacts; therefore, emphasis is placed on causal reasoning and trend interpretation. Literature Review Scholarly work on agricultural reforms converges on several themes. Price Policy: MSP and procurement provide income stability but create cereal bias and fiscal pressure (Gulati et al., 2021). Income Support: Direct transfers like PM-KISAN enhance liquidity but are insufficient without complementary credit and risk coverage. Risk Management: Studies on PMFBY find that timely claim settlement strongly influences farmer trust (CAG Report 2023). Credit Access: Research by NABARD (2024) indicates that KCC reduces dependence on informal moneylenders yet excludes tenant farmers. Market Reforms: Academic analyses of APMC liberalization show potential for efficiency gains but emphasize safeguards for smallholders. Overall, literature supports integrated, technology-enabled, and regionally adaptive reforms rather than fragmented schemes. Timeline of Key Reforms (2016–2025) Year Key Policy Events Highlights 2016 PMFBY launched Comprehensive crop insurance scheme replacing earlier programs 2018 e-NAM expansion Digital market platform integration of mandis 2019 PM-KISAN nationwide launch Direct income support via DBT 2020 Farm Laws passed Market liberalization and contract farming framework 2021 Repeal of farm laws Commitment to consultative reform 2022–25 Infrastructure push FPO promotion, micro-irrigation, climate-resilient programs Major Welfare and Policy Instruments 1. Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Procurement MSP remains the backbone of price policy, ensuring farmers a minimum remunerative price. It supports food security and income stability but benefits are regionally concentrated. Reform requires diversification of procurement and improved transparency in payment. 2. PM-KISAN (Direct Income Support) PM-KISAN provides ₹6,000 per year to eligible farmer families via DBT. Its strength is simplicity and predictability; limitations include tenant exclusion and data errors. Integration with KCC and crop insurance can enhance its impact. 3. PMFBY (Crop Insurance) This scheme protects farmers against yield loss due to natural calamities. Challenges include claim delays and low awareness. Recent digitization efforts—use of remote sensing and geo-tagging—have improved accuracy and transparency. 4. Kisan Credit Card (KCC) KCC provides short-term credit for input purchase and production activities. Interest subvention and collateral-free loans enhance affordability. However, coverage among small and tenant farmers remains limited. 5. Market Reforms Reforms in APMC Acts and contract farming seek to increase competition and enable farmers to sell directly to buyers. For success, such reforms require effective dispute-resolution mechanisms and price transparency. 6. Infrastructure and Climate Resilience Public investment in irrigation, storage, and logistics is critical for reducing post-harvest losses and adapting to climate variability. Schemes like PMKSY and micro-irrigation funds play a vital role. Welfare Outcomes Reforms have produced mixed yet positive results. Journal of Research and Development A Multidisciplinary International Level Referred and Double Blind Peer Reviewed, Open Access ISSN : 2230-9578 | Website: https://jrdrvb.org Volume-17, Issue-9(VIII)| September 2025 37  Income Security: DBT and MSP have improved income stability for many farmers.  Risk Mitigation: Insurance coverage expanded to over 40 percent of gross cropped area by 2024.  Credit Access: KCC accounts crossed 8.5 crore in 2024 with ₹9 lakh crore outstanding credit.  Market Access: FPO membership increased and e-NAM trade volume grew steadily.  Inclusion: Women and marginal farmers still require targeted awareness campaigns and capacity building. Implementation Gaps and Delivery Frictions 1. Incomplete land records lead to beneficiary exclusion. 2. Delays in PMFBY claim settlement reduce trust. 3. Limited coordination between central and state agencies. 4. Inadequate extension services and low financial literacy. 5. Weak grievance redress and monitoring systems. What Works: Emerging Good Practices  Use of digital dashboards for real-time monitoring.  Integration of PM-KISAN and KCC databases.  FPO-led aggregation for collective marketing.  Geospatial insurance assessment under PMFBY.  Participatory policy consultations with farmer representatives. Policy Recommendations and Roadmap Short-Term (1 Year)  Clean and update beneficiary databases.  Set service level agreements for insurance payouts.  Strengthen grievance redress platforms.  Launch awareness campaigns on credit and risk tools. Medium-Term (1–3 Years)  Adopt hybrid insurance triggers using satellite data.  Include tenants via lease certificates or community verification.  Diversify procurement beyond rice and wheat.  Promote value-addition and processing industries in rural areas. Long-Term (3–7 Years)  Develop climate-smart agriculture and soil-health markets.  Institutionalize participatory law-making.  Establish independent evaluation and data governance frameworks.  Integrate agriculture policy with nutrition and environmental objectives. Implementation Matrix Actor Responsibilities Union Government Design national policy, fund schemes, and monitor outcomes State Governments Implement schemes, manage procurement, resolve grievances Banks & Insurers Deliver credit and claims, maintain transparency FPOs/Cooperatives Mobilize farmers, aggregate inputs and outputs Research Institutions Evaluate impact and advise policy adjustments Monitoring Indicators for Farmer Welfare Domain Key Indicator Desired Trend Income Average annual farm income Increase Risk Claim settlement period (days) Decrease Credit KCC coverage ratio Increase Markets Farmgate-to-retail price spread Decrease Inclusion Share of women/tenant beneficiaries Increase Resilience Area under micro-irrigation Increase Risks, Trade-Offs and Ethical Considerations Reforms inevitably involve trade-offs between fiscal space and coverage, between market efficiency and social protection. Ethical implementation demands fair eligibility criteria, transparency in selection and payouts, data Journal of Research and Development A Multidisciplinary International Level Referred and Double Blind Peer Reviewed, Open Access ISSN : 2230-9578 | Website: https://jrdrvb.org Volume-17, Issue-9(VIII)| September 2025 38 privacy for farmers, and environmentally responsible use of subsidies. Accountability must be ensured through public disclosure of performance and regular independent evaluations. Conclusion Agricultural policy reform in India has moved from incremental subsidy-driven approaches toward a comprehensive welfare framework based on income support, risk management, credit access, and market integration. The success of these initiatives depends on delivery efficiency, data accuracy, and institutional coordination. Future policy must emphasize inclusive participation, climate resilience, and evidence-based evaluation. If implemented with discipline and dialogue, these reforms can transform Indian agriculture from vulnerability to sustainability and ensure lasting welfare for farmers. References 1. Government of India. (2025). Economic Survey 2024–25. Ministry of Finance. 2. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. (2024). Annual Report 2023–24. New Delhi. 3. NITI Aayog. (2023). Transforming Agriculture: Markets, Credit and Risk. Policy Paper. 4. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) & NABARD. (2024). Status of Agricultural Credit in India. 5. Gulati, A., & Juneja, R. (2022). Price Policy and Farm Incomes in India. Economic & Political Weekly, 57(35). 6. Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). (2023). Performance Audit on Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. 7. Peer-reviewed articles on PM-KISAN, crop insurance, and FPOs (2018–2025).