COVID-19 and Indian Agriculture: From Crisis to Opportunities

Abstract

This first issue brings together seemingly disparate issues in the agriculture sector to a coherent narrative by highlighting the role of the government in times of pandemic. It draws from the team's research during the April-June quarter to anchor the research findings around three crucial events: the frightening resurgence of COVID-19, escalating food prices, and record government procurement of wheat and rice. Prima facie these events seem discrete. But the articles bind them along a single thread, which is that of governance. While the pandemic makes the need for strengthening safety nets felt more palpably, the modality of such safety nets and allied issues of government interventions for price support and control become more pressing than ever.