ABSTRACT
The introduction of new agricultural technology in India during the 1960s generated a genuine feeling that small farmers faced difficulties in obtaining fertilizers at market prices, and that subsidies to the fertilizer industry were essential to increase domestic food production and stabilize foodgrains availability (Roy, 1990). A serious crisis in the balance of payments and growing fiscal deficit compelled the Indian government to reduce subsidies to the fertilizer industry, so prices increased dramatically (see Chapter 3 of the present volume).
