Surplus of advice

There is no need for another panel on farm reforms

The government’s plan to set up a high-powered committee on structural reforms in agriculture makes little sense. Numerous panels have already gone into this issue and have come out with substantive reports covering nearly everything that needs to be done to put this beleaguered sector on a sound footing. The most notable among these panels are the M S Swaminathan-headed National Commission on Farmers, the Shanta Kumar-chaired committee on food sector reforms and the Ashok Dalwai-led empowered committee on doubling farmers’ income. Besides, the government’s own think tank, the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, has come out with