ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by Rajib SutradharSubscribe to Rajib Sutradhar

The FPTC Act, 2020

In the name of empowering farmers, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 has displayed a blinkered vision of an integrated supply chain—by undermining the importance of Agricultural Produce Market Committee markets in a competitive and inclusive agri-food market system. By overlooking many important aspects, the law has taken a quantum leap in the wrong direction.

 

Handloom Weavers and Lockdown in Sualkuchi Cluster of Assam

After demonetisation in 2016, followed by imposition of the goods and services tax in the subsequent year, the COVID-19 lockdown has turned out to be a final nail in the coffin for the handloom sector in Assam. It has special importance in the informal economy of Assam since it is next to agriculture in creating employment opportunities. An examination of the Sualkuchi weaving cluster in Assam shows the many challenges the weavers, most of them women, face.

The New and Changing Roles of Cold Storages in the Potato Supply Chain in Bihar

There have been dramatic increases and rapid upscaling of modern cold storages in Bihar, one of the poorest states in India and an area where smallholders dominate. These investments have been triggered by market reform, investment subsidies, and better overall public service provision and governance. Almost all potato farmers, small and large, participate in cold storage and the availability of cold storages is associated with improved efficiency in value chains because of lower wastages even as a number of these cold storages have become involved in input, output, and especially credit markets. The increasing availability of modern cold storages has therefore led to important changes in potato value chains, with significant implications for smallholders.

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