Lok Sabha Question No. 1864 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-03
Subject: Steps for Doubling Farmers Income
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Malook Nagar

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1864

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 3 RD  MARCH, 2020

## STEPS FOR DOUBLING FARMERS INCOME

1864. SHRI MALOOK NAGAR:

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

(a) the steps taken so far by the Government to double the income of farmers by 2022;

(b) whether the Government has any proposal to impart any training for improved agriculture with the purpose to double the income of farmers; and

(c) the expenditure incurred by the Government on the symposia, conferences, awareness campaigns,  advertisements,  etc.  aimed  at  achieving  the  target  of  doubling  the  income  of farmers by 2022 and the findings thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

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

(a): Agriculture being a State subject, the State Governments undertake implementation of programmes /schemes for the development of the sector. Government of India supplements the efforts  of  the  State  Governments  through  various  schemes/  programmes.  These  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 initiatives taken by the Government are at Annexure. All these steps of the Government of India are for the welfare of the farmers of the country.

Further,  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. To achieve this, 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.

(b): The  Government  is  implementing  schemes  for  imparting  various  training  programmes and  awareness  campaigns  for  the  benefit  of  farmers  at  Panchayat  and  village  level  under Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) Scheme, Four Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes (FMTTIs), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Food Security Mission (NFSM) etc. through its wide network of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)  and agriculture Universities etc.

(c): Awareness campaigns, advertisements etc are organised in print and electronic media to raise awareness among the farmers  about the various initiatives taken by the Govt. of India for their welfare,  on which an amount of Rs 218.55 crore and Rs 148.22 crore (till date) has been spent during the year 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively.

Annexure

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

- (i) 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.
- (ii) 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 i.e. Pradhan Mantri Kisan MaanDhan Yojana (PM-KMY) 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.
- (iii) 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.
- (iv) 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.
- (v) Implementation of flagship scheme of distribution of Soil Health Cards to farmers so that the use of fertilizers can be rationalized.
- (vi) '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.
- (vii) 'Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)' for promoting organic farming.
- (viii) Launch  of  e-NAM  initiative  to  provide  farmers  an  electronic  transparent  and competitive online trading platform.
- (ix) 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.
- (x)      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.
- (xi)       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.
- (xii) To  ensure  flow  of  adequate  credit,  Government  sets  annual  target  for  the  flow  of credit to the agriculture sector, Banks have been consistently surpassing the annual target. The agriculture credit flow target has been set at Rs. 13.50 lakh crore for the F.Y.2019-20 and Rs.15.00 lakh crore for F.Y. 2020-21.
- (xiii) 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 4% per annum on prompt repayment.
- (xiv) 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.
- (xv) The Government has extended the facility of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to the farmers practicing  animal  husbandry  and  fisheries  related  activities.    All  processing  fee, inspection, ledger folio charges and all other services charges have been waived off for fresh renewal of KCC. Collateral fee loan limit for short term agri-credit has been raised from Rs.1.00 lakh to Rs.1.60 lakh.  KCC will be issued within 14 days from the receipt of completed application.

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