Steps to Increase Farmers' Income
Government believes, that farmers welfare will improve if there is increase in net income from the farms. With this end in view, the approach is to reduce cost of cultivation, enable higher yield per unit and realize remunerative prices of farm produce.
Some of the important new initiatives in this context and the targets achieved are as follows:
Scheme to rationalize input management:-
(i) Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme by which the farmers can know the major and minor nutrients available in their soils which will ensure judicious use of fertiliser application and thus save money of farmers. The balanced use of fertiliser will also enhance productivity and ensure higher returns to the farmers. Against a target of 253 lakh samples, 184.75 lakh soil samples collected, 87.90 lakh soil samples tested and against target of 1400 lakh Soil Health Cards, 226.99 lac Soil Health Cards distributed as on 28.06.2016.
(ii) Neem Coated Urea is also being promoted to regulate urea use, enhance its availability to the crop and reduce cost of fertilizer application. The entire quantity of domestically manufactured urea is now neem coated. From the current year (i.e. 2016), the urea that is imported would also be neem coated.
(iii) Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) is being implemented with a view to promoting organic farming in the country. This will improve soil health and organic matter content and increase net income of the farmer so as to realise premium prices. The target is to cover 2 lakh ha in 3 years. Each cluster will be 20 ha each and total clusters 10,000. In 2015-16, 7186 clusters were sanctioned and Rs. 226.19 crore released to State Governments out of approved outlay of Rs. 511.67 crore. (GOI share is 335.05 crore). In 2016-17, remaining 2814 clusters have been sanctioned.
(iv) The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) is being implemented to expand cultivated area with assured irrigation, reduce wastage of water and improve water use efficiency. In 2015-16, against a target of 5 lac ha., 5.6 lac ha has been brought under micro irrigation.
Scheme to cover nature related risks:-
(v) Government has also recently approved a new crop Insurance scheme namely Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to replace National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Modified NAIS (MNAIS) from Kharif 2016 season. PMFBY has addressed all the shortcomings in the earlier schemes and would be available to the farmers at very low rates of premium. The farmers will get full insurance cover as there will be no capping of sum insured and consequently the claim amount will not be cut or reduced. This scheme would provide insurance cover for all stages of the crop cycle including post-harvest risks in specified instances. The area coverage would be increased from 23% presently to 50% in two years.
Scheme to transfer remunerative prices to farmers:-
(vi) A Market Intervention Scheme, namely e-NAM was approved on 1-7-2015 with a budget allocation of Rs. 200 crore to be implemented during 2015-16 to 2017-18. The releases of grants under the scheme are made on the basis of completion of 3 reform pre-requisites i.e. Single Trading License, Single License Fee and Creation of e-Platform for Trading. The scheme was launched on 14.04.2016 in 8 States viz. Gujarat, Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand covering 21 markets. As of now 23 markets integrated.
Scheme to increase productivity:-
(vii) National Food Security Mission (NFSM) pulses: Out of a total allocation Rs. 1700 crore, an amount of Rs. 1100 crore is allocated for pulses as centre share. The target set for pulses production during the year 2016-17 is 20.75 million tons and the area coverage target is 26 million hectares during this year.
In addition, the Government is implementing several Centrally Sponsored Schemes viz. 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).
Further the Government undertakes procurement of wheat and paddy under its ‘MSP operations’. In addition, Government implements Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for procurement of agricultural and horticultural commodities not covered under the Minimum Price Support Scheme on the request of State/UT Government. The MIS is implemented in order to protect the growers of these commodities from making distress sale in the event of bumper crop when the prices tend to fall below the economic level/cost of production.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Parshottam Rupala today in Rajya Sabha.
Source: PIB
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