(a) Whether any effort is being made by the Government to increase the income of farmers while giving priority to agricultural export;
(b) if so, the details thereof and whether it is also being considered that our agricultural produce should be chemical-free;
(c) if so, the details thereof; and
(d) whether the Government is considering to export agricultural produce from Gujarat in large quantities and if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
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(a): The Government of India has taken various steps to increase the income of farmers in which enhancement of agri exports is also one of the focused actions. Agriculture exports help farmers to take advantage of wider international market which translates into increased income for the farmers.
(b)&(c): The Government has adopted several developmental programmes, schemes, reforms and policies that focus on higher incomes for the farmers. All these policies & programmes are being supported by higher budgetary allocations, non-budgetary financial resources by way of creating Corpus Funds like Micro Irrigation Fund and Agri-marketing Fund, Promotion of 10,000 FPOs, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna (PMKSY), Implementation of National Bee Keeping Honey Mission (NBHM), Interest Subvention Scheme by providing Kisan Credit Card (KCC), Electronic National Agriculture Market (e- NAM) etc. Also, one lakh crore ‘Agri infrastructure fund’ has been setup for post-harvest infrastructure.
Besides, the Government is also promoting organic farming which is a sustainable chemical free agriculture system that excludes the use of synthetic inputs in farming and relies on on-farm inputs such as crop residues, farmyard manure, enriched composts, vermin-compost, oil cakes, bio-fertilizers etc for nutrient management of crops. Organic farming in the country is being promoted through dedicated schemes namely Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) since 2015-16 to cater to the needs of domestic and export markets respectively.
(d): With a view to promote export of agricultural produce from Gujarat in large quantities, Agriculture Export Policy, 2018 envisages development of clusters of various agri products i.e. banana, mango, potato, cumin and castor in different districts of Gujarat.
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