Question : Welfare Schemes for Farmers

(a) whether the Economic Survey 2018 states that the farmers real income has “remained stagnant” (1.9 per cent growth over four years) and if so, the reaction of the Government thereto;

(b) whether the Government has any welfare schemes for farmers aged more than 60, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) whether the Government has noted that one of the major causes of low income of the Indian farmers is the difficulty in marketing their crops and if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this regard;

(d) whether the productivity per acre is low in all the States and if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and

(e) the steps taken by the Government to improve the situation?

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
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(a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.



STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 21 DUE FOR REPLY ON 5TH FEBRUARY, 2019.

(a): The Economic Survey 2017-18 makes no specific mention of stagnation in farmers’ real income. It, however, indicates that climate change could impact farm income through increase in average temperatures, decline in average rainfall and increase in the number of dry-days.
Government is implementing a number of schemes for promoting climate resilient agriculture to cope with the challenges of climate change. The key dimensions for climate change adaptation include promotion of drought and flood tolerant varieties of seeds; better water use efficiency; improved nutrient and pest management; improved farm practices, agricultural insurance, credit support, markets; access to information; and livelihood diversification.
(b): Yes, Madam. There are various welfare schemes/ programmes being implemented by the Government which, among others, cover people above 60 years of age, including farmers. These include Atal Pension Yojana (APY), Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Integrated Programme of Older Persons (IPOP), Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY), etc.
(c): Agriculture marketing is a State subject and the concerned States/Union Territories regulate and facilitate marketing of agriculture produce under their respective regulations. The Union Government, while taking note of the deficiencies in the existing marketing facilities in the country and its impact on farmers’ income, has released a new model “The Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2017” in April 2017 for its adoption by States/Union Territories (UTs). The Act provides for
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alternative marketing channels to facilitate farmers in marketing their produce directly at competitive & remunerative prices. Furthermore, with a view to optimize the use of scarce resources and mitigate the uncertainty in price and marketing, Union Government has formulated and released a progressive and facilitative Model Act “The ---State/ UT Agricultural Produce & Livestock Contract Farming and Services (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2018” in May, 2018 for its adoption by the States/Union Territories (UTs). The Model Act covers the entire value and supply chain from pre-production to post harvest marketing including services contract for the agricultural produce and livestock.
In addition, Government has implemented National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) scheme for transparency in price discovery through competitive online bidding system so as to ensure remunerative prices for the farmers for their produce. So far, 585 wholesale regulated markets of 16 States and 2 UTs have been integrated with e-NAM platform. Government has further approved the integration of another 415 wholesale regulated markets (APMCs/Mandis) with e-NAM platform by 2019-20. Moreover, as per the announcement made in the Union Budget 2018-19, Government has decided to develop and upgrade existing 22,000 rural haats into Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs) to work as centers of aggregation and to provide farmers facility to make direct sale to consumers and bulk purchasers.
(d) & (e): The productivity level varies from crop to crop as well as from state to state. In case of cereals, Punjab has the highest yield rate at 4733 kilogram per hectare (kg/ha) in 2017-18 (as per Fourth Advance Estimates). Similarly, in case of Pulses, Himachal Pradesh is estimated to have the highest yield of 1395 kg/ha during 2017-18, and for Oilseeds, Tamil Nadu has the highest yield of 2579 kg/ha. State-wise level of yield (kg/ha) during the last few years is given in the Annexure.
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In order to increase the production and productivity of agricultural crops, Government is implementing several Crop Development Schemes/Programmes, including National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP), National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, Soil Health Card, etc.