For many years, Roopchand Bhatra’s go-to-person has been the local trader, whether for seeds, fertiliser, credit, or help selling his crop. As Bhatra has only a small plot of land in Umerkote block in Nabarangpur district in Odisha, once these items have been set against the credit, he is left with very little for spending. “He is a known figure here and he has been providing me input on credit.

       But whenever I asked him about the prevailing market price of the produce he bought from me, he used TO ignore my question. More often than not, at the end of the season, I was ...