Lok Sabha Question No. 3637 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-10
Subject: Doubling Income of Farmers
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Suresh Kumar Kashyap

O.I.H.

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

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3637

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE  10 TH  DECEMBER, 2019

## DOUBLING INCOME OF FARMERS

3637.  SHRI SURESH KUMAR KASHYAP:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state that the steps being taken by the Government to double the income of farmers?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

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

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  and thereafter,  an  Empowered  Body  was  set  up  on 23.01.2019 to  monitor  and  review  the progress  as  per  these  recommendations.  Due  to  the  efforts  made  as  part  of  schemes/ programmes of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare 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. Various interventions and schemes that have already been rolled out are at Annexure .

## Annexure

## List of various interventions and schemes launched for the benefit of farmers.

The strategy  of  the  Government  is  to  focus  on  farmers'  welfare  by  making  farming viable. The schemes of Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare focus on directly benefitting farmers through various interventions and schemes and include:-

- (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',  agro  forestry  is  being  promoted  for  additional income.  With  the  amendment  of  Indian  Forest  Act,  1927,  Bamboo  has  been removed from the definition of trees. 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 201819 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 an unprecedented step taken by Govt. of India to protect the farmers' income which is expected to go a long way towards the welfare of farmers.
- (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) Extending the reach of institutional credit to more and more farmers is priority area of  the  Government  and  to  achieve  this  goal,  the  Government  provides  interest subvention of 2% on short-term crop loans up to Rs.3.00 lakh. Presently, loan is available to farmers at an interest rate of 7% per annum, which gets reduced to 4% on prompt repayment.
- (xi) Government  sets  annual  target  for  the  flow  of  credit  to  the  agriculture  sector, Banks  have  been  consistently  surpassing  the  annual  target.  The  current  year's agriculture credit flow target has been set at Rs. 13.50 lakh crore.
- (xii) Further, under Interest Subvention Scheme 2018-19, in order to provide relief to the farmers on occurrence of natural calamities, the interest subvention of 2% shall continue to be available to banks for the first year on the restructured amount. In order to discourage distress sale by farmers and to encourage them to store their produce  in warehouses  against  negotiable receipts, the benefit of interest subvention  will  be  available  to  small  and  marginal  farmers  having  Kisan  Credit Card  for  a  further  period  of  upto  six  months  post  harvest  on  the  same  rate  as available to crop loan.
- (xiii) The Government has approved for giving the facility of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to the farmers practicing animal husbandry and fisheries related   activities and has also  decided  to  extend  the  Interest  Subvention  Facilities  to  such  categories  of farmers.
- (xiv) 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).  The scheme  aims  to  provide  a  payment  of  Rs.  6000/-  per  year,  in  three  4-monthly installments  of  Rs.  2000/-  to  the  farmers  families,  subject  to  certain  exclusions relating to higher income groups.
- (xv) 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. Under this Scheme, a minimum fixed pension of Rs. 3000/- will be provided  to  the  eligible  small  and  marginal  farmers,  subject  to  certain  exclusion clauses, on attaining the age of 60 years.

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