Lok Sabha Question No. 32 (STARRED), answered on 2020-02-04
Subject: Promotion of Farming
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Gopal Chinayya Shetty

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION & FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 32

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE   4 TH  FEBRUARY, 2020

## PROMOTION OF FARMING

- *32.     SHRI GOPAL CHINNAYA SHETTY:

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 steps to promote farming in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has imparted training to farmers to practice farming in scientific manner;
- (d) whether farmers have been given information in this regard; and
- (e) if so, the names of the districts where the said programme has been organized along with the details thereof, State-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## 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. 32   DUE FOR REPLY ON 4 TH  FEBRUARY, 2020.

(a) & (b): Government of India supplements the efforts of the State Governments through various  schemes/  programmes.  The  various  schemes/  programmes  of  the  Government  of India are meant for the welfare of farmers by increasing production, remunerative returns and income  support  to  farmers.  A  list  of  various  initiatives  taken  by  the  Government  are  at Annexure-I . All these steps of the Government of India are for the welfare of the farmers of the country.

(c) & (d): The  Government  is  implementing  the  following  schemes  aimed  at  imparting training  to  farmers  at  Panchayat  and  village  level  in  the  agriculture  and  allied  sectors  for increasing agricultural production :-

A  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  on  'Support  to  State  Extension  Programmes  for Extension  Reforms'  popularly  known  as  Agriculture  Technology  Management  Agency (ATMA) Scheme is under implementation in 684 districts of 28 States & 5 UTs of the country. The scheme promotes decentralized farmer-friendly extension system in the country with an objective to support State Government's efforts to revitalize the extension system and making available  the  latest  agricultural  technologies  and  Good  Agricultural  Practices  in  different thematic  areas  of  agriculture  and  allied  areas  to  farmers.  The  extension  activities  under ATMA include Farmers Training, Demonstrations, Exposure Visits, Kisan Melas, Mobilization of Farmers Groups and organizing Farm Schools, etc. During the year, 2018-19 and current year  2019-20  (till  date),  19.18  lakh  and  7.73  lakh  farmers  respectively  availed  training benefits under ATMA.

-2-

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) with its network of 716 Krishi Vigyan Kendras  (KVKs)  has  mandate  of  technology  assessment,  demonstration  and  capacity development of farmers. KVKs are imparting training to farmers for getting higher agricultural production and income. During the year 2018-19, 15.75 lakh farmers were trained by KVKs in various thematic areas.

Four Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes (FMTTIs) located at Budni (MP), Hissar  (Haryana),  Ananthapur  (AP)  and  Biswanath  Chariali  (Assam)  are  engaged  in imparting  training  to  various  categories  of  trainees  including  farmers,  in  the  field  of  Farm Mechanization. During the year 2018-19 and 2019-20 (till date), these Institutes have trained 9905 and 5723 candidates respectively.

National Food Security Mission (NFSM) is being implemented in identified districts of 28  States  and  2  UTs  viz.  Ladakh  and  J&K  of  the  country  to  increase  the  production  and productivity  of  rice,  wheat,  pulses,  coarse  cereals  and  nutri  cereals  (millets)  through  area expansion and productivity enhancement. During the year 2018-19 and 2019-20 (till date), 3,42,188 and 5,11,530 numbers of farmers have been trained respectively.

Mission  for  Integrated  Development  of  Horticulture  (MIDH),  a  Centrally  Sponsored Scheme is being  implemented for  holistic  growth  of  the  horticulture  sector  covering  fruits, vegetables,  root  and  tuber  crops,  mushrooms,  spices,  flowers,  aromatic  plants,  coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo. All States and UTs are covered under MIDH. During the 201819  and  2019-20  (till  date),  1,91,086  and  1942  number  of  farmers  have  been  trained respectively.

In addition to the above, training of farmers is an inbuilt component under Sub-Mission on Plant Protection & Plant Quarantine.     Farmer Field Schools are conducted for promoting Contd…3/-

-3-

Integrated  Pest  Management  among  farmers.  During  the  year  2018-19  and  2019-20  (till date), 712 & 351 FFSs have been organized under the scheme, respectively.

Sub-Mission  on  Agricultural  Mechanization was  launched  in 2014-15  with the objectives to increase the reach of Farm Mechanization to Small and Marginal farmers and the regions where availability of farm power is low. During the year 2018-19 and the current year  i.e.  2019-20  (till  date),  3,85,300  &  1,47,503  number  of  agricultural  machineries  have been distributed respectively and 5,189 & 2,300 custom hiring centres have been established respectively.

A  new  Central  Sector  Scheme  is  being  implemented  on  promotion  of  agricultural mechanization  for  in-situ-management  of  Crop  Residue  in  States  of  Haryana,  Punjab,  UP and NCT of Delhi (CRM) for the period from 2018-19 to 2019-20. An amount of Rs. 575.18 crore was released in 2018-19 and Rs. 594.14 crore during 2019-20 (till date) to Haryana, Punjab, UP and NCT of Delhi for stopping stubble burning.

For modernizing agriculture system, following initiatives have been taken by Government -

The  National  e-Governance  Plan  in  Agriculture  was  launched  to  use  Information  & Communication  Technology  for  timely  access  to  agriculture  related  information  for  the farmers. Kisan Suvidha mobile application facilitates dissemination of information to farmers on the critical parameters viz., Weather; Market Prices; Plant Protection; input Dealers (Seed, Pesticide, Fertilizer)  Farm  Machinery;  Soil  Health  Card;  Cold  Storages  &  Godowns, Veterinary Centres and Diagnostic Labs. Crop related advisories are sent to the registered farmers  through  SMSs  on  mKishan  Portal  (www.mkisan.gov.in).  The  Indian  Council  of Agriculture Research (ICAR) has compiled more than 100 mobile apps developed by ICAR, State Agricultural Universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras in the areas of crops, horticulture, veterinary, dairy, poultry, fisheries, natural resources management and integrated subjects.

-4-

The National Agriculture Market scheme (e-NAM) facilitates farmers with remunerative prices  for  their  produce  through  a  system  of  competitive  and  transparent  electronic  online trading platform. Per Drop More Crop component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana focuses on water use efficiency at farm level through precision/micro irrigation technologies viz., Drip and Sprinkler irrigation. Implementation of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, subscheme of Integrated Scheme of Agricultural Marketing, in order to improve/create scientific storage  capacity  for  storing  farm  produce,  processed  farm  produce  and  to  reduce  postharvest  storage loss.  Soil Health Card Scheme assists State Governments in providing  Soil Health Cards to all farmers across the country which provides information to the farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving crop productivity and soil fertility.

Use  of space technology for various  programmes/areas  such as Forecasting Agricultural  Output  using  Space,  Agro-meteorology  and  Land-based  Observations  project, Coordinated programme on Horticulture Assessment and Management using geo-informatics project, National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring System, Rice-fallow Area Mapping and Intensification, geo tagging of infrastructure and assets created under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and Crop Insurance.

The  Government  has  set  up  716  Krishi  Vigyan  Kendras  and  684  Agricultural Technology Management Agencies at district level for dissemination of technologies among farm  community.  In  addition,  farmers  are  provided  information  through  Focused  Publicity Campaigns,  Kisan  Call  Centres,  Agri-Clinics  and  Agri-Business  Centres  of  entrepreneurs, Agri Fairs and exhibitions, Kisan SMS Portal, etc.

Under Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization, in order to increase the availability of      machines     to farmers     on rental basis,     Custom Hiring Centres, Hi-tech hubs,Farm Contd…5/-

Machinery Banks have been established. A Multi lingual Mobile App 'CHC- Farm Machinery' has  been  launched  which  encompasses  a  rental  process  while  focusing  on  quality, dependability and timely delivery of the services to the farmers.

Development and availability of quality seeds has been increased from 380.30 lakhs Qtls. to 431.01 lakhs Qtls during 2016-17 to 2019-20. More than 1100 new seed varieties, which include climate resilient varieties, have been released and notified during 2014-2019 out of which 35 are Bio-fortified.

(e): A state-wise detail where the said programme has been organized is at Annexure-II.

## Statement in respect of Part (a) & (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 32 due for 04.02.2020 regarding 'Promotion of Farming'

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 instalments  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. The scheme aims to cover around 3 crore beneficiaries in the first three years. It would be a voluntary and contributory pension scheme, with entry age of 18 to 40 years.

## Farmer oriented activities (2019-20)

## Annexure-II

| S. N0.   | STATE            | EXPO-VISIT   | EXPO-VISIT   | TRAINING   | TRAINING   | DEMO.   | DEMO.   | KISAN MELAS   | KISAN MELAS   | TOTAL   | TOTAL   | FIGs      | Farm    |
|----------|------------------|--------------|--------------|------------|------------|---------|---------|---------------|---------------|---------|---------|-----------|---------|
| S. N0.   | STATE            | M            | F            | M          | F          | M       | F       | M             | F             | M       | F       | Mobilized | Schools |
| 1        | 2                | 3            | 4            | 5          | 6          | 7       | 8       | 9             | 10            | 11      | 12      | 13        | 14      |
| 1        | Andhra Pr.       | 2082         | 696          | 30634      | 14133      | 1299    | 1083    | 3230          | 1598          | 37245   | 17510   | 34        | 26      |
| 2        | Bihar            | 23816        | 5770         | 73643      | 17447      | 1986    | 0       | 36495         | 8561          | 135940  | 31778   | 1163      | 762     |
| 3        | Chhatisgarh      | 5814         | 571          | 14602      | 4885       | 12008   | 903     | 43660         | 14067         | 76084   | 20426   | 115       | 114     |
| 4        | Goa              | 94           | 412          | 1194       | 1886       | 92      | 43      | 88            | 52            | 1468    | 2393    | 45        | 5       |
| 5        | Gujarat          | 22246        | 12535        | 95863      | 56497      | 24452   | 8251    | 32767         | 11857         | 175328  | 89140   | 3014      | 744     |
| 6        | Haryana          | 12000        | 2300         | 10230      | 1650       | 2520    | 0       | 19000         | 3200          | 43750   | 7150    | 0         | 204     |
| 7        | H.P              | 70           | 30           | 2057       | 1362       | 789     | 525     | 1358          | 3067          | 4274    | 4984    | 36        | 65      |
| 8        | J & K            | 0            | 0            | 0          | 0          | 0       | 0       | 0             | 0             | 0       | 0       | 0         | 0       |
| 9        | Jharkhand        | 6896         | 2974         | 7707       | 3268       | 4387    | 1881    | 14830         | 6304          | 33820   | 14427   | 432       | 539     |
| 10       | Karnataka        | 13873        | 5968         | 16067      | 14792      | 677     | 472     | 30239         | 31925         | 60856   | 53157   | 857       | 307     |
| 11       | Kerala           | 2282         | 1995         | 8254       | 6567       | 725     | 0       | 162           | 117           | 11423   | 8679    | 469       | 48      |
| 12       | Maharashtra      | 8530         | 3655         | 51962      | 22385      | 32124   | 13767   | 10887         | 4664          | 103503  | 44471   | 1319      | 3199    |
| 13       | M.P.             | 5635         | 778          | 9764       | 859        | 2417    | 52      | 13268         | 637           | 31084   | 2326    | 1549      | 695     |
| 14       | Orissa           | 13072        | 5428         | 11644      | 4756       | 4000    | 1635    | 2100          | 900           | 30816   | 12719   | 2796      | 628     |
| 15       | Punjab           | 5135         | 71           | 6485       | 152        | 315     | 9       | 34933         | 2283          | 46868   | 2515    | 0         | 49      |
| 16       | Rajasthan        | 5935         | 759          | 16908      | 5374       | 25844   | 8666    | 48486         | 11313         | 97173   | 26112   | 292       | 434     |
| 17       | Telangana        | 4549         | 1948         | 26769      | 11473      | 1524    | 654     | 6654          | 2976          | 39496   | 17051   | 187       | 86      |
| 18       | Tamil Nadu       | 84805        | 36347        | 67312      | 28847      | 28920   | 12395   | 34371         | 14729         | 215408  | 92318   | 2327      | 423     |
| 19       | U.P              | 21810        | 8890         | 54545      | 22708      | 13908   | 5960    | 143963        | 61688         | 234226  | 99246   | 2148      | 3188    |
| 20       | Uttarakhand      | 6168         | 2299         | 13506      | 5146       | 3202    | 918     | 18028         | 8360          | 40904   | 16723   | 300       | 269     |
| 21       | W.B              | 20940        | 11660        | 75200      | 44800      | 18700   | 11000   | 250           | 125           | 115090  | 67585   | 1050      | 830     |
| 22       | Assam            | 0            | 0            | 0          | 0          | 0       | 0       | 0             | 0             | 0       | 0       | 0         | 0       |
| 23       | Ar.Pradesh       | 0            | 0            | 34860      | 14940      | 2278    | 977     | 69230         | 29720         | 106368  | 45637   | 0         | 0       |
| 24       | Manipur          | 1500         | 0            | 800        | 0          | 600     | 0       | 0             | 0             | 2900    | 0       | 180       | 60      |
| 25       | Meghalaya        | 616          | 626          | 1618       | 2178       | 294     | 0       | 496           | 565           | 3024    | 3369    | 80        | 71      |
| 26       | Mizoram          | 1158         | 592          | 3208       | 2152       | 2107    | 813     | 520           | 200           | 6993    | 3757    | 0         | 30      |
| 27       | Nagaland         | 1878         | 1487         | 9509       | 9583       | 5595    | 7721    | 20946         | 9847          | 37928   | 28638   | 296       | 74      |
| 28       | Tripura          | 0            | 0            | 404        | 171        | 2145    | 0       | 0             | 0             | 2549    | 171     | 0         | 0       |
| 29       | Sikkim           | 416          | 126          | 764        | 236        | 542     | 403     | 428           | 258           | 2150    | 1023    | 31        | 31      |
| 30 31    | Delhi Puducherry | 0 0          | 0 0          | 0 0        | 0 0        | 0 0     | 0 0     | 0 0           | 0 0           | 0 0     | 0 0     | 0 0       | 0 0     |
| 32       | A&N              | 0            | 0            | 220        | 161        | 14      | 6       | 2877          | 1956          | 3111    | 2123    | 0         |         |
|          | Total            | 271320       |              |            | 298408     | 193464  |         | 589266        | 230969        | 1699779 | 715428  | 18720     | 1       |
|          |                  |              | 107917       | 645729     |            |         | 78134   |               |               |         |         |           | 12882   |

379237

944137

271598

820235

2415207

Contd...2/-

## State-wise Progress of Skill Trainings (200 hrs. Duration)

| Sl.   | State             | Number of Candidates trained   | Number of Candidates trained   | Number of Candidates trained   |
|-------|-------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| No.   |                   | 2016-17                        | 2017 - 18                      | 2018 - 19                      |
| 1     | ANDHRA PRADESH    | 117                            | 170                            | 691                            |
| 2     | ARUNACHAL PRADESH | 32                             | 0                              | 80                             |
| 3     | ASSAM             | 57                             | 57                             | 336                            |
| 4     | BIHAR             | 178                            | 40                             | 1022                           |
| 5     | CHHATTISGARH      | 183                            | 0                              | 589                            |
| 6     | DELHI             | 37                             | 0                              | 40                             |
| 7     | GOA               | 0                              | 0                              | 40                             |
| 8     | GUJARAT           | 192                            | 21                             | 599                            |
| 9     | HARYANA           | 197                            | 40                             | 318                            |
| 10    | HIMACHAL PRADESH  | 111                            | 16                             | 380                            |
| 11    | JAMMU & KASHMIR   | 70                             | 62                             | 564                            |
| 12    | JHARKHAND         | 146                            | 0                              | 648                            |
| 13    | KARNATAKA         | 72                             | 38                             | 767                            |
| 14    | KERALA            | 75                             | 20                             | 389                            |
| 15    | MADHYA PRADESH    | 204                            | 80                             | 1428                           |
| 16    | MAHARASHTRA       | 292                            | 78                             | 1189                           |
| 17    | MANIPUR           | 77                             | 0                              | 254                            |
| 18    | MEGHALAYA         | 37                             | 0                              | 140                            |
| 19    | MIZORAM           | 79                             | 22                             | 110                            |
| 20    | NAGALAND          | 105                            | 90                             | 231                            |
| 21    | ODISHA            | 90                             | 0                              | 923                            |
| 22    | PUNJAB            | 224                            | 101                            | 620                            |
| 23    | RAJASTHAN         | 351                            | 174                            | 1295                           |
| 24    | SIKKIM            | 30                             | 0                              | 40                             |
| 25    | TAMIL NADU        | 185                            | 20                             | 520                            |
| 26    | TELANGANA         | 75                             | 40                             | 522                            |
| 27    | TRIPURA           | 39                             | 0                              | 100                            |
| 28    | UTTAR PRADESH     | 173                            | 60                             | 967                            |
| 29    | UTTARAKHAND       | 28                             | 20                             | 360                            |
| 30    | WEST BENGAL       | 143                            | 29                             | 756                            |
|       | Total             | 3599                           | 1178                           | 15918                          |

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