Ideas of India

Rajat Kochhar on Agricultural Market Power and Farmer Adaptation to Climate Change

Dec 14, 2023

In this episode, Rajat Kochhar, an environmental economics scholar, discusses the impact of market power in local agricultural markets on farmer adaptation to climate change. They explore distortionary policies, regulations, crop choice, water audits, and the agricultural produce market system in India and the UK.

40:11

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Episode guests

Rajat Kochhar

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Quick takeaways

Farmers in competitive agricultural markets cope better with climate shocks than those in less competitive systems.

Changing licensing rules and allowing farmers to sell across state borders can reduce market distortions in India.

Deep dives

Effect of Market Structure on Farmers' Climate Change Adaptation

The market structure significantly impacts farmers' ability to cope with negative climate shocks. Farmers in more competitive agricultural markets are able to have higher output and better cope with extreme heat compared to farmers in less competitive systems.

Impact of Extreme Heat on Agricultural Output

00:21

Impact of Climate Shocks on Farmers in Bangladesh

00:22

Exacerbation of preexisting price differences

00:21

Introduction

3min

The Agricultural Produce Market Committee and Farmer Selling Restrictions in India

2min

Measuring Competition in Agricultural Markets

16min

Strategies for Farmers to Adapt to Climate Change

6min

Political Economy of the APMC and Licensing Restrictions

4min

Water audit program and its effectiveness in reducing water consumption

5min

Allocation mechanisms and price change dynamics in relation to political feasibility

5min

Our last scholar in the series this year is Rajat Kocchar, a post-doctoral scholar at University of Chicago’s Energy and Environment Lab. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Southern California, and his research lies in the field of environmental economics, in particular, on the understanding the factors that incentivize adaptation to climate shocks. We discussed his paper, “Does Market Power in Local Agricultural Markets Hinder Farmer Climate Change Adaptation?” We talked about the impact of distortionary policies and regulations on farmer’s ability to cope with weather shocks in India, the agricultural produce market system, the choice of crop mix, and the effectiveness of water audits in the UK and much more.

Recorded September 21st, 2023.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

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Ideas of India

Rajat Kochhar on Agricultural Market Power and Farmer Adaptation to Climate Change

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Effect of Market Structure on Farmers' Climate Change Adaptation

Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Laws in India

Effectiveness of Water Audits for Water Conservation

Short-term and Long-term Adaptation Strategies

Impact of Extreme Heat on Agricultural Output

Impact of Climate Shocks on Farmers in Bangladesh

Exacerbation of preexisting price differences

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts