“We believe the farm bills do have the potential to represent a significant step forward for agricultural reforms in India,” Gerry Rice, Director of Communications at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said at a news conference in Washington on Thursday. Rice said the new measures will reduce the role of the middlemen and enhance efficiency.
“The measures will enable farmers to directly contract with sellers, allow farmers to retain a greater share of the surplus by reducing the role of middlemen, enhance efficiency and support rural growth,” he said.
“However, it is crucial that the social safety net adequately protects those who might be adversely impacted during the transition to this new system,” the spokesperson said responding to a question on the anti-farm laws protests. This can be done by ensuring that the job market accommodates those that are impacted by the reforms, he said.
“And of course, the growth benefits of these reforms will depend, critically, on the effectiveness and the timing of their implementation, so need to pay attention to those issues as well with the reform,” Rice said.
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