The economic reforms of 1991 have not been able to benefit agriculture, where the growth rate has been decelerating.
The reasons are:
1. Public investment in agriculture sector, especially in infrastructure, which includes irrigation, power, roads, market linkages and research and extension, have been reduced in the reform period.
2. Removal of subsidies on fertilizers pushed up the cost of production of agriculture. This made farming more expensive, thereby, adversely affecting the poor and marginal farmers.
3. Since the commencement of WTO, this sector has been experiencing a number of policy changes such as reduction in import duties on agricultural products, removal of minimum support price and lifting of quantitative restrictions on agricultural products.
4. They have to face international competition. Further, export oriented policy strategy in agriculture has encouraged the farmers to enter export market and take up the cultivation of cash crops. This has led to rise in prices of food grains.
