Question : Improvements in Agriculture

(a) whether the Government has taken steps to improve the lives and livelihood of our farmers and ensure agricultural improvement through effective policy and actions, such as seed development and better crop insurance system, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(b) whether the farming community is suffering due to low productivity and income, lack of institutional credit support and low water availability;

(c) if so, the steps taken/proposed to be taken for activating hope and building resilience among farmers by empowering them with knowledge and skills;

(d) whether important areas requiring assistance in agriculture are the supply of seed, fertilizer, credit and crop information, extension services, marketing facilities and crop insurance;

(e) if so, the initiatives taken/being taken by the Government since active involvement of the Government in these areas is important in less advanced agricultural systems to overcome the barriers in improvement of agricultural productivity and farm income; and

(f) if not, the reasons therefor?

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE ???? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) Agriculture being a State Subject, the State Governments take appropriate measures for development of agriculture in the State. However, Government of India supplements the efforts of States through appropriate policy measures and budgetary support and various schemes/ programmes. The various schemes/ programmes of the Government of India are meant for the welfare of farmers by increasing production, remunerative returns and income support to farmers. A list of various interventions/ schemes launched for the benefit of farmers are at Annexure.

(b) to (f) By recognizing the importance of productivity, income generation, credit supply, water and fertilizer, the Government has already started various schemes such as PM-KISAN for income support, Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for remunerative income, strengthening of Agri logistics by steps taken under Atma Nirbhar Bharat which includes creation of Agriculture Infrastructure Funds of Rs. 100,000 lakh crores, PM MatasyaSampadana Yojana of Rs. 20,000 crores, Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund of Rs. 17,000 crore. Formation of FPOs and e-NAM etc. improves market efficiency and also helps in getting remunerative prices.

To increase the productivity and production, various schemes have been launched such as Soil Health Card (SHC), Neem coated urea, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Regions (MOVCDNER), Mission Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), Integrated Pest Management, Integrated Nutrient Management, National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), Watershed Development Project, Sub-mission on Agricultural Mechanization(SMAM) and Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs).

To make institutional credit available to the farmers, a saturation drive was initiated to provide Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to all eligible farmers to have access to Interest Subvention Scheme for concessional loans. For making quality seeds available, a scheme namely Sub-mission on Seeds and Planting Material (SMSP) has been launched. To increase water efficiency, a scheme Per Drop More Crop (PDMC-PMKSY) has been launched. The Government also ensures timely availability of fertilizers to the farmers and imparts knowledge, training, demonstrations, exposure visits etc. through 725 Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs) and under schemes such as ATMA , Farm Machinery training and Testing Institutes (FMTTIs) etc.