MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
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(a) & (b): Agriculture being a State subject, the State Governments undertake development of perspective plans and ensure effective implementation of the programmes/ schemes. Also, Government of India supplements the efforts of the State Governments through various Schemes/ Programmes.
Several other initiatives have already been taken among each of the above mentioned strategies, which inter-alia, include:
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(i) Implementation of flagship scheme of distribution of Soil Health Cards to farmers so that the use of fertilizers can be optimized.
(ii) “Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)” under which organic farming is being promoted.
(iii) “Per drop more crop” initiative under which drip/sprinkler irrigation is being encouraged for optimal utilization of water.
(iv) Launch of eNAM initiative to provide farmers an electronic online trading platform.
(v) With a view to provide better insurance coverage to crops for risk mitigation, Government has launched a crop insurance scheme namely Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from Kharif 2016 season. This scheme provides insurance cover for all stages of the crop cycle including post-harvest risks in specified instances.
(vi) The Government provides total interest subvention up to 5% (inclusive of 3% prompt repayment incentive) on short-term crop loans up to Rs. 3.00 lakh. Thus, loan is available to farmers at a reduced rate of 4% per annum on prompt repayment.
(vii) Giving a major boost to the pro-farmer initiatives, the Government has approved a new Umbrella Scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA)’. The Scheme is aimed at ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce as announced in the Union Budget for 2018. This is an unprecedented step taken by Govt. of India to protect the farmers’ income which is expected to go a long way towards the welfare of farmers.
(viii) Under “Har Medh Par Ped”, agro forestry is being promoted. With the amendment of Indian Forest Act, 1947 Bamboo grown outside forest area has been removed from the definition of trees and a mission have been launched to promote bamboo plantation.
(ix) Giving a major boost for the farmers income, the Government has approved the increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSPs) for all Kharif & Rabi crops for 2018-19 season at a level of at least 150 percent of the cost of production.
(x) Bee keeping has been promoted under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) to increase the productivity of crops through pollination and increase the honey production as an additional source of income of farmers.
(xi) Rashtriya Gokul Mission to enhance milk production and productivity of bovines and to make milk production more remunerative to the farmers.
(xii) National Livestock Mission to increase productivity and genetic improvement of livestock.
(xiii) Foreseeing high potential in fisheries sector, a Blue Revolution with multi dimensional activities mainly focusing on fisheries production, both inland and marine is being implemented.
(xiv) Government sets annual target for the flow of credit to the agriculture sector, Banks have been consistently surpassing the annual target. The current year’s agriculture credit flow target has been set at Rs. 11 lakh crore.
(xv) Initiating market reforms through the State Governments.
(xvi) Encouraging contract farming through the State Governments by promulgating of Model Contract Farming Act.
(xvii) Up gradation of Gramin Haats to work as centers of aggregation and for direct purchase of agricultural commodities from the farmers.
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(c) & (d): The Government has been receiving suggestions from various quarters to accord status of industry to agriculture. However, the Government seeks to bestow on the agriculture sector as many benefits as available to those in the manufacturing sector, such as, easy availability of credit and other inputs and infrastructure facilities for development of agriculture sector including marketing and post harvest management.
(e) & (f): The Government has been reorienting the agriculture sector by focusing on an income-centeredness which goes beyond achieving merely the targeted production. The income approach focuses on achieving high productivity, reduced cost of cultivation and remunerative price on the produce, with a view to earn higher profits from farming.
The Government has set a target of doubling of farmers’ income by the year 2022. The Government has constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee to examine issues relating to doubling of farmers’ income and recommend a strategy to achieve doubling of farmers’ income in real terms by the year 2022. The Committee has submitted its report.
The committee has identified seven sources of income growth viz, improvement in crop productivity; improvement in livestock productivity; resource use efficiency or savings in the cost of production; increase in the cropping intensity; diversification towards high value crops; improvement in real prices received by farmers; and shift from farm to non-farm occupations. The committee is also looking into the investments in and for agriculture e.g. increasing public investments for agriculture-rural roads, rural electricity, irrigation; the need for policy support to enable investments by corporate sector in agriculture.
The Government with a view to augment the income of Small and Marginal Farmers, in the Union Budget 2019 has recently announced “Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAmman Nidhi (PM-KiSaN)” a new Central Sector Scheme will be 100% funded by the Government of India.
Under the Scheme, financial benefit of Rs. 6000/- per year will be provided to all Small and Marginal Farmer families, subject to certain exclusions, having cultivable land holding upto 2 hectare. This financial benefit will be provided in 3 equal installments of Rs. 2000/- each in a period of every four months in a financial year. The benefit shall be admissible under the scheme w.e.f. 01.12.2018. The definition of a Small and Marginal landholder farmer family is comprising husband, wife and minor children who collectively own cultivable land upto 2 hectare as per land records of the concerned State/UT.
The Government has approved for giving the facility of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to the farmers practicing animal husbandry and fisheries related activities and has also decided to extend the Interest Subvention Facilities to such categories of farmers.
All these steps are implemented to reduce agrarian distress and increase the farmers’ income.
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