This paper explores through counterfactual simulations the effects of deregulating and liberalizing the foodgrain sector on the costs of price stabilization, production incentives and consumption levels. The outcomes under free trade with trade taxes are compared with those of a regime in which...

In this study we trace how number and members of income clusters have changed in Indian agriculture over the last four and a half decades. Two features which stand out in our results are that not all geographical neighbors belong to the same cluster and clusters include both geographical...

This paper examines the idea that contract farming arrangements in developing countries even while offering farmers insurance against certain kinds of risks could simultaneously exacerbate other risks or entail new risks of their own. If correct, farmer perceptions of risks and returns would...

Using the recent rounds of NSS data, this paper evaluates the performance and outreach of India's public distribution system (PDS) in the rural areas. The results suggest a significant improvement in the performance of PDS in terms of its outreach and offtake. States like Bihar and Jharkhand...

This paper looks at some key entry points for agriculture to influence nutrition and suggests policies for nutrition-sensitive agricultural development, within the current policy framework. In addition, it reviews three key agriculture-food programs for their nutrition sensitivity at the policy...

This paper examines the efficacy of the current system of public foodgrains management and policies in promoting food security in the country. It argues that the system has outlived its usefulness, and that continuing with the same only stifles growth in foodgrains, with very little welfare...

The objective of the study is to examine the impact of rising food prices and financial crisis on the impact of women and children in India. It identifies the pathways for dealing with the effects of these two crisis on households particularly women and children. It also outlines the desirable...

Food security policies in developing countries generally focus on calorie intake, which is not sufficient to tackle the triple burden of malnutrition: undernourishment, micronutrient deficiencies and over-nutrition. Consumption of a diverse diet is important to lessen the burden and is...

This paper proposes a new method to break up the bid-ask spread in wholesale rice markets into its three components and applies the methodology to twelve major rice centers in India. The proposed methodology is claimed to be superior to the extant methods such as those of Stoll (1989) and...

This paper is an attempt to estimate the magnitudes of yield gaps, causative factors and constrains for attending greater farm potential in adsali, suru, preseasonal and ratoon sugarcane production in Maharashtra. Primary data were collected from 250 sugarcane cultivators using random sampling...