Chapter 11: Land That Works for Its Owner

The idea

Picture a farm owner in Vidarbha with three acres. She lists her land on a national exchange from her phone. A farming company leases it, with her neighbours' plots, as one 800-acre block. Rent arrives in her bank account on the first of every month, three months' rent sits safely in escrow, and the land stays in her name. Her son takes a job in a cold-storage plant nearby.

Picture a small farmer in Punjab who books a harvester by the hour on an app, at a price shown upfront, and gets the same machine a large farm uses.

Picture a grain trader in Bihar who buys directly from a farm in Madhya Pradesh, at a price everyone can see online.

I believe land belongs to its owner, and the owner should be free to use it in the way that pays best. We tried farm reform in 2020, and those laws were repealed in 2021 after a year of protest. I take that lesson seriously. This time trust comes first: title stays with the owner on every lease, rent arrives every month, and farmer unions help shape the law before it is passed.

When leasing is safe, when buyers can reach every farm, and when prices are honest, land flows to whoever farms it best. Owners earn more, and we grow more food with fewer hands.

Why now

Here is why I think the time has come.

Our farms are small and ready to grow together. The average holding is about 1.08 hectares. Pooled through secure leases, those plots can carry the machines, cold chains and processing that a small plot alone finds hard to afford.

Our people are ready for better-paid work. Farming employs about 46% of workers, and modern farms free many of them for jobs in processing, cold chains and factories.

A modest gain goes a long way. A 10% productivity gain on farming's share of the economy adds about 1.8% of GDP (estimate).

A large sum can do more good elsewhere. The fertiliser subsidy was ₹1.86 lakh crore in FY26, and market prices let that money reach every household in need through one fair transfer.

The rails are ready. Digitised land records (Chapter 5), e-NAM and the bank channel PM-KISAN already uses for nearly 10 crore farmers can carry this reform from the first month.

The big moves

Here is the path I see, one step after another.

First, make leasing free and safe. An owner registers a lease online in about 15 minutes against the digitised title, with her own biometric consent, and the law states plainly that title stays with her. A registered lease is enough for a bank loan or crop insurance, so tenants invest and owners lease with confidence.
Next, open a national Farm Lease Exchange. Owners list land, and certified operators of any size, from companies to cooperatives to startups, lease large blocks on one standard long lease with monthly rent and rent held in escrow. Owners who pool land can take a share in the operator instead of rent.
Then let any buyer buy, with one simple limit. One way is a single cap, for example 5,000 acres per person or group per district, in place of the old ceiling laws. Land finds its best use while ownership stays widely spread.
Alongside, bring modern machines and open markets to every farm. Certified machines sell anywhere at the single 5% import duty, hire apps put them within reach of every small plot, every farm chemical on sale is one Europe approves (Chapter 24), and any farm can sell to any buyer in any state, with prices public on e-NAM.
Finally, move to honest prices, with every household in need covered. Fertiliser reaches market prices in a few published steps, a strategic grain buffer keeps food secure, and every farm household qualifies for the Chapter 23 transfer on the same test as every household.

Today vs the new way

Here is how I see the new way comparing with today for owners, farmers and the country.

Outcome	Today	The new way
Registering a lease	Mostly oral; tenants find credit hard to get	Online in 15 minutes; enough for bank credit and insurance
Who can buy farmland	Farmers only in many states; ceilings of about 10 to 54 acres	Any buyer, up to 5,000 acres per district
Rent for an owner who leases	Informal and uncertain	Indexed rent paid monthly, 3 months held in escrow
Machine power per hectare	About 2.5 kW	At least 2.8 kW in year 1, 4 kW after (estimate)
Selling crops	Mandi fees and stock limits	Any buyer, anywhere, prices public on e-NAM
Fertiliser	₹1.86 lakh crore subsidy; urea ₹242 a bag	Market price, about ₹1,700 to ₹2,000 a bag, reached in 4 steps; the saving is counted once in Chapter 1, net of the transfer
Farming's contribution to the economy	About 16% to 18% of output	About 1.8% of GDP more from a 10% productivity gain (estimate)

Owners earn more and keep their land, farms grow more, and households in need are covered by the same fair transfer as everyone.

Proof it works

China let farm families rent out land and keep their rights. Households could rent out land-use rights while keeping their contracts, and by 2016 about a third of contracted farmland had moved to larger operators.

Argentina farms at scale on leased land. Its grain belt is farmed largely by "sowing pools" that lease land from many owners and run it with modern machines.

Karnataka opened farmland sales in 2020. The state removed its income limit and its farmers-only rule for buying farmland, the template for free sale.

America shows how a free land market works. In the United States, most rented farmland belongs to owners who do not farm it themselves. They keep their land and earn rent, while working farmers grow by leasing more acres. The Farm Lease Exchange takes this open American market as its reference.

What success looks like

In the first 30 days: a Model Farmland Freedom Act is published after 21 days of consultation with farmer unions, and the online lease registry is live in 10 states.
Within 1 year: at least 12 states pass the Model Act and 2 crore leases are registered.
Within 1 year: 50 lakh acres are under exchange leases, with output reported every quarter.
Within 1 year: fertiliser is fully market-priced, and every eligible household receives the Chapter 23 transfer.
After year 1: farm power reaches 4 kW per hectare, the level of advanced farm economies, and the land market reaches every state.

Guardrail ideas

Ideas to start the conversation, for the builders, experts and the public to shape together.

Owners stay in charge. Every lease runs to its end date, ends early only by court order for unpaid rent, and registers only with the owner's biometric consent.
Rent arrives every month. Every exchange lease holds 3 months' rent in escrow, with a missed month paid from escrow within 7 days.
Every seller has time to reconsider. Every land sale carries a 30-day window to cancel with a full refund.
Food prices stay steady. The buffer releases stock within 7 days whenever the retail price of rice, wheat or pulses rises more than 15% above its 12-month average.

FAQs

Q: Will big companies buy up land and turn owners into labourers?

A: Owners gain a secure income and keep their land. Leasing comes ahead of sale, title stays with the owner on every lease, ownership is capped at 5,000 acres per district, every sale has a 30-day cooling-off, and owners can take a share in the operator.

Q: Will market prices for fertiliser raise food prices?

A: Prices move gently and households are covered. Fertiliser reaches market price in 4 published steps, imports are open at 5%, soil-test dosing cuts the amount farms need, the buffer releases stock on any 15% price rise, and every household under the line receives the Chapter 23 transfer.

Q: What protects farmers from price crashes without MSP?

A: Every buyer in India can bid for every crop. Prices are public on e-NAM, the state still buys its buffer at market price, and surplus grain sales slow automatically when prices fall.

The detailed blueprint for this chapter, a starting draft for the mission heads, industry and the private sector to refine, is in the Implementation Annex.