Land of a Billion- Ep 6: How Can Reforms to Land Tenancy Laws Help Farmers?

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 episode of the ‘Land of a Billion’ podcast, host Abhishek Shah speaks 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.

 

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.

Tune in to find out!

 

Dr T Haque is one of the leading agricultural economists in the country, who was most recently head of the land policy cell in the NITI Aayog.

 

Land of a Billion is the exclusive podcast for conversations about land and property rights in India, produced by PRRC in association with The Quint. New episodes out every alternate Monday. Available on all major streaming platforms, do subscribe! 

Don’t forget to catch the next episode, where we’ll be in conversation with 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.