Lok Sabha Question No. 305 (STARRED), answered on 2019-12-10
Subject: Farm Incomes
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Jayadev Galla

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMER S WELFAR E

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION & FARMER S WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. 305

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 10 TH DEC EMBER, 2019

## FARM INCOMES

## *305.     D R.  S H RI K AN T  E K N A T H  S HIND E: S H R I  J A Y A D E V   G A L L A:

Will the Minister of AG RIC U L TU R E AND FA RME R S WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of farm incomes earned by rural households in real terms during the last three years,  State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether the Government has created any framework for doubling farm incomes and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the inter-Ministerial Committee constituted in this regard has submitted its report;
- (d) if so, the details of each of the recommendations made by the Committee and the steps taken on each such recommendation by the Ministry; and
- (e) whether the Government is on track to double the income of farmers by 2022 and if not, the other interventions that the Ministry thinks would help double the farmers' income by 2022?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMER S WELFAR E

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी

(SHRI NARENDRA  SINGH TOMAR)

- (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 305 DUE FOR REPLY ON 10 TH   DECEMBER, 2019.

(a):         The  latest  available  estimates of average  income per agricultural  household  in  the country are based on the 'Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households' conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NS SO) during its 70th round (January 2013 - December 2013). As per the survey results, the average monthly income per agricultural household from all sources is estimated to be Rs. 6,426/. State-wise average monthly income per agricultural household is given in Annexure-I . Since  the  last survey  was conducted  in 2013,  the  farm incomes earned by rural households in real terms during the last three years are not available.

(b) to (e):     The Government has set a target of doubling of farmers' income by the year 2022. An Inter-Ministerial Committee was set up to examine issues relating to doubling of farmers' income and recommend a strategy to achieve doubling of farmers' income in real terms by the year 2022. 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 non-farm occupations.

Later,  an Empowered  Body  was  set  up  on  23.01.2019  to  monitor  and  review  the progress  on  recommendations.  Due  to  concerted  efforts  made  to  align  the  ongoing developmental schemes by the Department of Agriculture , Cooperation and Farmers' Welfare with  the  strategy  of  doubling  farmers'  income,  there  has  been  a  positive  impact  in  the agricultural sector. Various interventions and schemes that have already been rolled out as envisaged in the recommendations of DFI Committee to double the income of farmers by 2022 are at Annexure-II.

## Annexure in reference to Reply to Part (a) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 305 due for reply on 10.12.2019

## Average Monthly Income per Agricultural Household as per ' Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households 2013'

| State            |   Average Monthly Income (in Rupees) |
|------------------|--------------------------------------|
| AndhraPradesh    |                                 5979 |
| ArunachalPradesh |                                10869 |
| Assam            |                                 6695 |
| Bihar            |                                 3558 |
| Chhattisgarh     |                                 5177 |
| Gujarat          |                                 7926 |
| Haryana          |                                14434 |
| HimachalPradesh  |                                 8777 |
| Jammu &Kashmir   |                                12683 |
| Jharkhand        |                                 4721 |
| Karnataka        |                                 8832 |
| Kerala           |                                11888 |
| MadhyaPradesh    |                                 6210 |
| Maharashtra      |                                 7386 |
| Manipur          |                                 8842 |
| Meghalaya        |                                11792 |
| Mizoram          |                                 9099 |
| Nagaland         |                                10048 |
| Odisha           |                                 4976 |
| Punjab           |                                18059 |
| Rajasthan        |                                 7350 |
| Sikkim           |                                 6798 |
| Tamil Nadu       |                                 6980 |
| Telangana        |                                 6311 |
| Tripura          |                                 5429 |
| Uttarakhand      |                                 4701 |
| UttarPradesh     |                                 4923 |
| WestBengal       |                                 3980 |
| Group of UTs     |                                 8568 |
| All-India        |                                 6426 |

Source:

NSSO

Note: Income includes salary/wages, net receipt from cultivation, net receipt from farming of animals and net receipt from non-farm business.

## Annexure-II

## Annexure referred to in reply to parts (b) to (e) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 305 due for answer on 10.12.2019 regarding 'Farm incomes'

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 (PKV Y)' 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 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 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.

Contd…2/-

- (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 (K C C) 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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