Not Guaranteed MSP, an Agriculture Export Policy Can Increase Farmers’ Income

The longest agitation of farmers is not just to repeal the three farm laws but also against the frustration built over the decades due to poor financial gains in the agriculture sector. A legally mandated MSP regime is likely to be neither feasible nor sustainable in the long term whereas the missed big opportunity is an export-led agricultural revolution to increase farmers’ income; India has to set a target to export at least 10 per cent share in the global market, which is currently at mere 2.2 per cent. To a great extent, the solution to the economic distress of Indian farmers is through a stable and predictable Agriculture Export Policy which aims at reinvigorating the entire value chain from export-oriented farm production and processing to transportation, infrastructure and global market access. India’s export basket is a diversified mix led by rice, marine products, spices and meat, which together constitute 57 per cent of its total agri exports, valued at USD 41 billion in 2020-21. According to the World Trade Statistical Review 2020, India’s share in global agricultural and allied products exports increased from 1.1 per cent in 2000-01 to 2.2 per cent in 2020-21.