Interview

‘The Contract farming ordinance is no gamechanger… it will drive adoption to 5%, at best’

The agriculture sector is poorly understood and planned for, so Ajay Jakhar of Bharat Krishak Samaj schools investors 

This May, when finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced reforms in agricultural marketing, headlines announced it as the “1991” moment of agriculture. The current government may or may not have appreciated this compliment, which measured its achievement against one of Congress government’s crowning moments. But what does the targeted population of farmers think about these reforms and the hype around them? Chairman of Bharat Krishak Samaj and citrus farmer, Ajay Jakhar talks to Outlook Business editor N Mahalakshmi on the Virtual Expert series of talks, hosted by Asian Markets. Jakhar is unsparing in his criticism, but gives credit where it is due.