Exploring the Impact of Government Schemes on Price Discovery and Market Stabilisation for Agri-Produce in India

The agricultural sector is indispensable to the Indian economy, as it offers employment and sustenance to a substantial portion of the populace. However, farmers and middlemen don't have equal negotiating power because of ongoing issues with price volatility, market inefficiency, and limited access to real-time pricing information. To meet these difficulties, governments have instituted programs such as direct benefit transfers (DBT), the electronic national agriculture market (eNAM), and minimum support prices (MSP). Their efficiency in promoting price discovery and steadying agricultural markets is examined in this paper. According to a poll taken among one hundred farmers from different states, just 42% have really benefitted from MSP, whereas 92% of respondents are aware of it. Furthermore, knowledge of eNAM is still scattered; just 7% of participants use it monthly for agricultural transactions. Farmers still fight with logistical limitations, market mistrust, and price swings. Government involvement notwithstanding, 40% of respondents are unsure about the efficacy of MSP, and 31% still choose conventional market channels over digital ones. The results highlight the need for regulatory adjustments, more digital literacy, and better infrastructure to support agricultural price discovery systems and guarantee market stability.