Discuss the impact of liberalization on agriculture sector in India. (Answer in 150 words)

- Discuss the impact of liberalization on agriculture sector in India. (Answer in 150 words)
Introduction
The 1991 reforms were built for industry and trade, and agriculture was liberalised only at its margins. The result is a sector exposed to markets in what it sells and administered in what it buys.

Body
1. Terms of trade improved: devaluation and delicensing removed the implicit taxation that protection for manufactures had imposed on agriculture.
2. Export and diversification gains: India became the largest rice exporter, horticulture output overtook foodgrains, and dairy and fisheries grew fastest.
3. Technology and private capital: Bt cotton after 2002 made India a leading cotton producer, and food processing drew capital.
4. Public investment collapsed: capital formation in irrigation, extension and research stagnated as spending shifted to subsidies.
5. New volatility: exposure to world prices, with rising input costs and informal debt, produced the distress the Swaminathan Commission examined.
6. Structural limits: holdings averaging about one hectare cannot capture market opportunities.

Conclusion
Liberalisation raised the ceiling for the commercial farmer without raising the floor for the marginal one. The repeal of the 2020 farm laws showed that market reform without land and credit reform lacks consent.