Lok Sabha Question No. 1688 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-06
Subject: Support to Small Farmers
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: RAJESH PANDEY, NISHIKANT  DUBEY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1688

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 6 TH   MARCH, 2018

## SUPPORT TO SMALL FARMERS

1688.  SHRI RAJESH PANDEY: SHRI NISHIKANT DUBEY:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken any measures to support farmers, especially small and landless farmers in the rural areas of the country including Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंालय म राय मंी (SHRI PARSHOTTAM RUPALA)

(a) to (c): The  Department  is  implementing  various  schemes  for  the  welfare  of  farmers including small and marginal farmers including in Uttar Pradesh & Jharkhand. The strategy is to improve net returns to the farmers by enabling them to realise higher yields at lower cost and benefit from better market prices. Some important schemes include Soil Health Card Scheme (SHC), Neem Coated Urea, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), National Agriculture Market scheme (e-NAM), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), etc.

Under Interest Subvention Scheme, short term crop loan upto Rs.3.00 lakh is provided to farmers at a subvented interest rate of 7% per annum.  Further, in the case of farmers, who promptly repay their crop loans as per the repayment schedule fixed by the banks, 3% prompt repayment incentive is granted to such farmers. Thus, the effective interest rate for the short term crop loan is 4% per annum.

In  order  to  discourage  distress  sale  by  farmers  and  to  encourage  them  to  store  their produce in warehouses against warehouse receipts, the benefit of interest subvention scheme has been extended to small and marginal farmers having Kisan Credit Card for a further period of  upto  six  months  post  the  harvest  at  the  same  rate  as  available  to  crop  loan  against negotiable warehouse receipt in Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) accredited warehouses.

Under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) for holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo, subsidy  is  provided to the farm

size limited to 4 hectare, in majority of its interventions. Also, small and marginal farmers are mobilized  to  form  Farmer  Producer  Organizations  (FPOs)/  Farmer  Interest  Group  (FIG)  for aggregation  and economies of  scale.  FPOs are  eligible for  financial  assistance  under MIDH. The Mission also plays a vital role to enhance income of farmers through various interventions, such as, diversification to High Value horticulture of orchards and plantation crops, vineyards, vegetables & flower gardens, bee keeping, mushroom cultivation and off season vegetables. In certain  components  like  cultivation  of  flowers  in  open  fields,  there  is  a  provision  to  provide higher rate of assistance for small and marginal farmers for upliftment of small and marginal farmers.

Under National Food Security Mission (NFSM), at least 33% of funds are earmarked for small and marginal farmers.

Under  the  Sub  Mission  on  Agricultural  Mechanization  (SMAM)  under  the main  Mission i.e. National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology (NMAET), it is proving a suitable platform  for  converging  all  activities  for  inclusive  growth  of  agricultural  mechanization  by providing  a  'single  window'  approach  for  implementation  with  a  special  focus  on  small  & marginal farmers.

Under  the  Per  Drop  More  Crop  (micro  irrigation)  at  least  50%  of  the  allocation  is  to  be utilized for small & marginal farmers. Further, 10% additional financial assistance is available to small  &  marginal  farmers  as  compared  to  other  farmers.  National  Mission  for  Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) guidelines also envisage that at least 50% of the allocation is to be utilized for small & marginal farmers i.e. for Rainfed Area Development (RAD) and Sub Mission on Agro Forestry (SMAF) Schemes.

Under the Soil Health Card  Scheme  (SHC)  assistance  is  provided  to  all State Governments  to  evaluate  soil  health  in  all  farm  holdings  across  the  country  and  issue  Soil Health Cards to farmers (including small and marginal farmers) regularly in a cycle of two years.

Joint Liability Group is an informal group comprising 4 to 10 individuals coming together for the purpose of availing bank loan on individual basis or through group mechanism against mutual guarantee. The JLG mode of financing serves as collateral substitute for  loans to be provided to the target group i.e. small, marginal, tenant farmers, oral lessees, share croppers, etc. It builds mutual trust and confidence between the bank and the target group and minimizes the  risks  in  the  loan  portfolio  for  the  banks  through  group  dynamics,  cluster  approach,  peer education and credit discipline. The objective of the JLG mode of financing is to provide food security  to  vulnerable  section  by  enhanced  agriculture  production,  productivity  and  livelihood promotion.  JLGs can also easily serve as a conduit for technology transfer, facilitating common access to market information, training and technology dissemination in activities like soil testing, training and assessing input requirements, etc.

The  Scheme for financing  of  Joint  Liability  Groups  of  Tenant  Farmers  was  started  by NABARD in 2005-06.  The scheme was extended to non-farm sector from 2009 onwards. Thus, JLGs consists of farmers and non-farmers.  The announcement of Union Budget for 2014-15 for financing of 5 lakh Joint Liability Groups of 'Bhoomi Heen Kisan' (landless farmers) has given further credence to efforts of NABARD in innovating and reaching out to the landless farmers through JLG scheme of financing.  Financing of 25.42 lakh Joint Liability Groups from 2014 to 2017 during last 3 years has been done as compared to 6.7 lakh JLGs during the 7 years from 2007 to 2014. Rs.27,929.67 crore were made available to JLGs during the last three years from 2014 to September, 2017 as compared to Rs.6,630 crore made available to JLGs  during 2007 to 2014.

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