Impact of Socio-economic Factors on Agricultural Prices: A Case Study of Paddy Cultivation in India.

This article examines how socio-economic factors influence the prices received by paddy farmers in India, focusing on disparities in bargaining power within both regulated and non-regulated markets. Despite the government's announcement of minimum support prices (MSP) based on the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) recommendations, implementation is limited, especially in non-regulated markets dominated by private procurement. Using unit-level data from the National Sample Survey (NSS) 77th round, the study finds that land ownership, caste, religion, education, gender, and financial access significantly affect farmers' ability to secure higher prices, with upper-caste, large landholders, and non-Muslim farmers generally receiving better prices and greater access to regulated markets. The analysis also highlights that regulated markets and states with higher government procurement improve price realization, while tenant farmers and those reliant on non-institutional loans face disadvantages. Overall, socio-economic exclusion and discrimination persist in agricultural price realization, particularly disadvantaging marginalized groups in non-regulated markets.