The Corporate Sector and Indian Agriculture Under Liberalisation

The neoliberal agricultural reform agenda that emerged out of the post-1991 liberalisation of the Indian economy had a significant impact on the sector. In contrast to the other sectors of the economy, however, direct corporate takeover of agricultural production is conspicuous by its absence. Even the penetration achieved through corporate presence in agriculture-linked sectors is far from complete, and Indian agriculture also remains mainly oriented to the domestic economy. However, the limits to these processes, the changed context within agriculture, and the prolonged crisis of accumulation of Indian capitalism may be creating conditions for a sharpening of the conflict over the distribution of the value created in agriculture between the peasantry and capital, Indian as well as foreign.