How Can Reforms to Land Tenancy Laws Help Farmers?

What are some of the structural issues which are a part of the larger ecosystem of agriculture in India?

In this episode of the ‘Land of a Billion’ podcast, we speak with Dr T Haque, one of the leading agricultural economists in our country, who was most recently head of the land policy cell in the NITI Aayog.

(Photo: The Quint)

With farmers at the forefront of the political discourse today, what are some of the more structural issues which are a part of the larger ecosystem of agriculture in India?

For instance, with leasing out of agricultural land prohibited or restricted in most parts of the country- how does this affect the actual tiller of the land? Are they entitled to the same benefits as land-owning farmers? How do these laws affect the agricultural productivity in our country?

In this context, we talk about the Model Agricultural Land Leasing Act drafted by NITI Aayog's special cell on land policy in 2016, and how it could help address some of the issues affecting farmers in our country today. Five years from when the Model Act was drafted, we look at what have been some of the broad conversations around the proposed tenancy reforms, including some of the criticisms against the Act.

In this episode of the ‘Land of a Billion’ podcast, we speak with Dr T Haque, one of the leading agricultural economists in our country, who was most recently head of the land policy cell in the NITI Aayog. With Dr. Haque, we explore the conversation around agricultural land tenancy and try to understand how far we have come five years since the drafting of the Model Land Leasing Act by NITI Aayog.

What should you expect from this podcast series? ‘Land of a Billion’ brings you expert conversations about the most contentious of the holy roti-kapda-makaan trinity – the makaan over our heads, and the larger ecosystem that governs it. From administrative tussles to understanding the conflicts on ground, catch these episodes every alternate Monday for a rundown on the latest charcha around land and property rights in India.

Hosted by researcher Abhishek Shah, it is a fortnightly podcast series produced in association with the Property Rights Research Consortium.

Don’t forget to catch the next episode, where we speak to Vaidehi Tandel and Sahil Gandhi, researchers at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress to understand how to secure land rights and catalyse our transition towards more inclusive and resilient urban centers.

Vaidehi is an independent researcher and until recently was associated with IDFC Institute