Question : Increase in Income of Farmers

(a) whether the agricultural income of most of the farmers is insufficient;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;

(c) whether the farmers of the country are opting for other professions as agriculture has become non-viable;

(d) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;

(e) whether the Swaminathan Committee has given any suggestions/ recommendations to improve the economic condition of farmers and if so, the details thereof; and

(f) the steps taken by the Government to increase the income of the farmers and to make agriculture a viable profession?

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

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(a) & (b): According to the “Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households” conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in 2013, the all-India average monthly income per agricultural household from various sources is estimated to be Rs. 6426 vis-à-vis the average monthly consumption expenditure of Rs.6223.
Government has been focusing on reorienting the agriculture sector by shifting towards an income-centric approach which goes beyond merely achieving targeted production.

(c) & (d): As per the Population Census conducted by the Registrar General of India, the total number of agricultural workers in the country, comprising of cultivators and agricultural labourers, have increased from 234.1 million (127.3 million cultivators and 106.8 million agricultural labourers) in 2001 to 263.1 million (118.8 million cultivators and 144.3 million agricultural labourers) in 2011. State-wise details are given in the Annexure.
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(e): The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) headed by Dr. M. S. Swaminathan has made several recommendations for improving the financial conditions of farmers in 2006, which have been incorporated in the ‘National Policy for Farmers, 2007’ (NPF 2007).

The Policy provisions in NPF 2007 include, inter-alia, (i) reforms in respect of land, water, livestock, fisheries and bio-resources; (ii) supply of good quality seeds and disease-free planting material, (iii) issue of soil health passbooks to the farmers and Integrated Pest Management System; (iv) region and crop specific implements and machinery; (v) timely, adequate and easy reach of institutional credit at reasonable interest rates and farmer-friendly insurance instruments; (vi) support services and inputs like application of frontier technologies; (vii) use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and setting up of farm schools to revitalize agricultural extension; (viii) effective implementation of Minimum Support Price (MSP) across the country and establishing community foodgrain banks; (ix) development of agricultural market infrastructure; (x) promote special categories of farming like organic farming and contract farming; (xi) rural non-farm employment initiatives for farm households, etc.

(f): Various schemes/programmes are being promoted and implemented for increasing the profitability of farming sector. These include, inter- alia, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY); Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme; Neem Coated Urea (NCU); Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana(PKVY); National Agriculture Market scheme (e-NAM); Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY); National Food Security Mission (NFSM); Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA); Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH); National Mission on Oilseeds & Oilpalm (NMOOP); National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA); National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology (NMAET) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). Besides, Government has adopted the principle of fixing Minimum Support Prices (MSP) at a level of 50 per cent over the all-India weighted average cost of production of crops.