Lok Sabha Question No. 343 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-02-04
Subject: Initiatives for Sustainable Farming
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: S. Jothimani

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

## LOK  SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 343 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 4 TH  FEBRUARY, 2020

## INITIATIVES FOR SUSTAINABLE FARMING

343. MS. S. JOTHIMANI:

Will  the  Minister  of  AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी

be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  will  consider  providing  incentives  for  using  sustainable farming and agricultural machinery to farmers at low rent;
- (b) whether drip irrigation methods  will be encouraged  for sustainable farming, especially in Karur Parliamentary Constituency of Tamil Nadu and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the steps being taken to improve the income of farmers and reduce farming costs;
- (d) the status of implementation of the Comprehensive Policy Recommendations given in  the  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Doubling  Farmers'  Income  (Volume  XIV,  September 2018);
- (e) the measures being taken by the Government to resolve the agrarian distress in the country; and
- (f) whether any study has been conducted or will be undertaken to assess the increase in  real  income  of  farming  households  with  the  help  of  sustainable  farming  and  if  so,  the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a):   DAC&FW is implementing schemes for incentivising sustainable farming and use of agricultural machinery to farmers.

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) launched in 2015 is the first comprehensive scheme  for  assisting  organic  farming  in  a  cluster  approach  and  PGS  certification.  The farmer  within  a  group  can  avail  benefit  to  a  maximum  of  2  ha  with  an  assistance  upto Rs.50, 000 per hectare, out of which 62% i.e., Rs. 31,000 is given as incentives for organic conversion, organic inputs, on farm inputs, production infrastructure, etc.,

Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) for  development  of  certified  organic  production  in  a  value  chain  mode  in  the  States  of North East India to link growers with consumers and to support the development of entire value chain starting from inputs, seeds, certification and creation of facilities for collection, aggregation, processing, marketing and brand building initiative, with third party certification.

Soil  Health  Card  (SHC): Soil  Health  Card  scheme  was  launched  in  2015-16  in  the country to give fertiliser use prescription based on testing of 12 soil parameters. The 2 biennial cycles have resulted in judicious application of fertilisers by the farmers.

Sub-Mission  on  Plant  Protection  and  Plant  Quarantine promotes  Integrated  Pest Management and  educate  the  farmers  about  judicious  use  of  chemical  pesticides  and recommend use as per the  directions  prescribed  on  the  label  and  leaflets.  It  seeks  to promote  cultural,  mechanical,  biological  methods  of  pest  control  and  control  and recommends use of chemical pesticides as a measure of last resort.

Sub-Mission  on  Agricultural  Mechanization  (SMAM) is  under  implementation  since 2014-15 and provides a single window platform for converging  all activities for inclusive growth  of  agricultural  mechanization  with  a  special  focus  on  Small  &  Marginal  farmers and the following objectives:

- I. Increasing the reach of small and marginal farmers  and to regions where availability of farm power is low to farm mechanization;
- II. Promoting 'Custom Hiring Centres ' to offset the adverse economics of scale arising due to small landholding and high cost of individual ownership ;
- III. Creating hubs for hi-tech & high value farm equipments ;
- IV. Creating  awareness  among  stakeholders  through  demonstration  and  capacity building activities;
- V. Ensuring performance testing and certification of designated testing centres located all over the country.

(b): DAC&FW is implementing Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana - Per Drop More Crop  from  2015-16  in  the  country,  including  Tamil  Nadu  for  promoting  use  of  drip  and sprinkler irrigation.

The details of fund released and achievement and progresss in Karur district of Tamil Nadu under PMKSY-Per Drop More Crop is at Annexure -I.

(c): Various schemes of the DAC&FW are meant for the welfare of farmers by increasing production, reducing cost of inputs, remunerative returns and income support to farmers. Details are at Annexure-II .

Contd….3/-

(d): The  Government  constituted  an  Inter-Ministerial Committee  in  April,  2016  to examine  issues  relating  to  'Doubling  of  Farmers  Income'  and  recommend  strategies  to achieve the same. The Committee submitted its Report to the Government in September, 2018. The Committee has identified seven sources of income growth viz., improvement in crop productivity; improvement in livestock productivity; resource use efficiency or savings in  the  cost  of  production;  increase  in  the  cropping  intensity;  diversification  towards  high value crops; improvement in real prices received by farmers; and shift from farm to nonfarm occupations. Subsequently an Empowered Body was set up on 23.01.2019 to monitor and review the progress against the recommendations. Due to the efforts made as part of Govt.  schemes  /programmes,  which  also  aligns  with  the  strategy  of  doubling  farmers' income, there has been an appreciable improvement in efficiency bringing about a positive Impact in the agriculture sector.

## (e): Same as in Para (c) .

(f): Government decided to conduct the next 'Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households' during National Sample Survey (NSS) 77 th round (January 2019December 2019) with reference to the agricultural year July 2018 -June 2019 to provide a comprehensive  assessment  of  the  situation  of  agricultural  households  in  the  country, including their income, expenditure, indebtedness etc.

ICAR-Indian Institute of  Farming  Systems Research through AICRP on Integrated Farming  Systems  (IFS)  and  All  India  Network  Programme  on  Organic  Farming  is undertaking  research  on  integrated  farming  systems  and  organic  farming  in  26  States  / Union  Territories  with  the  involvement  of  marginal  and  small  farmers.  Under  on-station component of AICRP on Integrated Farming Systems, developed 45 tailor made prototype Integrated Farming System Models suitable to 23 States / Union Territories. These models provide  scope  to  improve  the  income  of  farmers  and  reduce  the  farming  costs  through recycling of wastes.

## LOK SABHA USQ NO. 343 REPLY ON 04.02.202

Status  of  fund  released  and  achievement  made  under  PMKSY-PDMC  across  the country

| Year                    |   Released (Rs. in crore) |   Achievement (Coverage of Micro- Irrigation) (Ha) |
|-------------------------|---------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
| 2015-16                 |                   1556.73 |                                             572980 |
| 2016-17                 |                   1991.24 |                                             839961 |
| 2017-18                 |                   2819.49 |                                            1048934 |
| 2018-19                 |                   2918.38 |                                            1158519 |
| 2019-20 (as on 20/1/20) |                   1460.08 |                                             567658 |

Detailed  status  of  achievement  made  under  PMKSY-PDMC  in  Karur  district  Tamil Nadu

| Year    |   Released to Tamil Nadu (Rs. in crore) |   Achievement (Coverage Micro-Irrigation) (Ha) in Karur district of Tamil Nadu |
|---------|-----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2015-16 |                                  129.78 |                                                                            522 |
| 2016-17 |                                  143.5  |                                                                            637 |
| 2017-18 |                                  369.55 |                                                                           1659 |
| 2018-19 |                                  355    |                                                                           2880 |
| 2019-20 |                                  204    |                                                                           2616 |

## LOK SABHA USQ NO. 343 REPLY ON 04.02.2020

- i. Implementation of flagship scheme of distribution of Soil Health Cards to farmers so that the use of fertilizers can be rationalized.
- ii. 'Per drop more crop' initiative under which drip/sprinkler irrigation is being encouraged  for  optimal  utilization  of  water,  reducing  cost  of  inputs  and  increasing productivity.
- iii. 'Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)' for promoting organic farming.
- iv. Launch  of e-NAM  initiative to provide farmers an electronic transparent and competitive online trading platform.
- v. With a view to provide better insurance coverage to crops for risk mitigation, a crop insurance scheme namely Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) was launched from Kharif 2016 season. This scheme provides insurance cover for all stages of the crop  cycle  including  post-harvest  risks  in  specified  instances,  with  low  premium contribution by farmers.
- vi. Under  'Har  Medh  Par  Ped',  agroforestry  is  promoted  for  additional  income.    A restructured National Bamboo Mission has been launched in the year 2018 to promote bamboo plantation on non forest government as well as private land and emphasis on value addition, product development and markets.
- vii. Giving  a  major  boost  for  the  farmer's  income,  the  Government  has  approved  the increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSPs) for all Kharif & Rabi crops for 2018-19 season at a level of at least 150 percent of the cost of production.
- viii. Giving  a  major  boost  to  the  pro-farmer  initiatives,  the  Government  has  approved  a new  Umbrella  Scheme  'Pradhan  Mantri Annadata  Aay  Sanrakshan  Abhiyan  (PMAASHA)'.  The  Scheme  is  aimed at  ensuring  remunerative  prices  to  the  farmers  for their  produce  as  announced  in  the  Union  Budget  for  2018. This  is  a  step  taken  by Govt. of India to protect the farmers from making distress sale.
- ix. Bee  keeping  has  been  promoted  under  Mission  for  Integrated  Development  of Horticulture  (MIDH)  to  increase  the  productivity  of  crops  through  pollination  and increase the honey production as an additional source of income of farmers.

- x. The Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS) was launched in the year 2006-07 with a view to  provide  concessional  short  term  crop  loans  including  loan  availed  through  Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to the farmers.
- xi. Kisan Credit Card Scheme (KCC) was introduced in 1998 to provide timely credit to farmers to meet short term/long term cultivation requirement, post harvest expenses, consumption requirement etc. KCC is implemented by Commercial Banks, Cooperative  Banks  and  Rural  Regional  Banks  (RRBs). This  Department  is  actively promoting the issue of KCC to all eligible farmers so that can come under the ambit of institutional Credit.
- xii. With a view to provide income support to all farmers' families across the country, to enable them to take care of expenses related to agriculture and allied activities as well as domestic needs, the Central Government started a new Central Sector Scheme, namely, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN).
- xiii. Further  with  a  view  to  provide  social  security  net  for  Small  and  Marginal  Farmers (SMF) as they have minimal or no savings to provide for old age and to support them in  the  event  of  consequent  loss  of  livelihood,  the  Government  has  decided  to implement another new Central Sector Scheme for providing old age pension to these farmers.

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