↑ Spindle, Bill; Agarwal, Vibhuti (2020-10-13). "India Turns to Economic Overhaul as Growth Prospects Slide Amid Coronavirus - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party pushes through changes to farming and labor regulations". The Wall Street Journal. In a single swoop, it dismantled a longstanding regulatory system that forced farmers to sell most of their crops through government-approved wholesale markets dominated by traders and middlemen instead of directly to consumers or food processors. The new laws, for example, allow for the first time for many crops to be stored and sold later, eliminating restrictions that contributed to the spoilage of as much as one-third of some crops. ... Government-approved wholesale markets have largely shut or slowed sales as the traders and middlemen who dominate them protest against the prospect of new competition. Small farmers, who suddenly have no place to sell their products until other buyers step up, have also erupted in protest. They fear the government will eventually phase out a system of guaranteed price floors for some crops, leaving them little leverage in dealing directly with large-scale buyers.
↑ Li, Shan; Roy, Rajesh (2021-11-20). "India to Repeal Farming Laws Protested by Tens of Thousands - Farmers who opposed rules worried they would herald end to regulations, subsidies and support". Wall Street Journal. The laws sought to dismantle a longstanding regulatory system that required farmers to sell most of their crops through government-approved wholesale markets dominated by traders and middlemen, paving the way for them to sell their produce directly to consumers or food-processing companies. Almost half of India’s 1.3 billion population relies on agriculture to earn a living, though farming accounts for less than one-fifth of India’s gross domestic product. ... Farmers ... said they were worried that the laws would make them vulnerable to big competitors and take apart a system of regulations, subsidies and support that they had relied on to bolster their meager incomes.
