Lok Sabha Question No. 4302 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-29
Subject: Revival of Agriculture Sector
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava, Mahabali Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4302

TO BE ANSWEREDON THE 29 th MARCH, 2022

## REVIVAL OF AGRICULTURE SECTOR

4302. SHRI MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAIVASAVA: SHRI MAHABALI SINGH:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ षएवंकसानकयाणमंी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether India is famous in the world for itsagriculture;
- (b) if so, whether the farmers of the country are stillfacing many problems such as lack of basic irrigationfacilities, short and long term loan facility, availability ofhigh quality of seeds and then selling of their produceat Minimum Support Price (MSP);
- (c)  if  so,  the  reaction  of  the  Government  thereto  andthe  steps  taken  to  address  these challenges;
- (d)  whether  the  said  sector  needs  a  new  greenrevolution  and  if  so,  the  reaction  of  the Governmentthereto;
- (e)  whether  exploitation  of  farmers  by  money  lendersis  a  major  and  common  problem which needs immediateattention and if so, the details thereof;
- (f) whether the incidents of farmers' suicides arereported almost daily in the media; and
- (g)  if  so,  whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  torevive  the  agriculture  sector  in  the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ षएवंकसानकयाणमंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a): India is one of the prominent countries in the field of agriculture in the world. It is a major producer of paddy, wheat and pulses. It ranks 2 nd in paddy & wheat production and 1 st in pulses production in the world.

India  has  one  of  the  world's  largest  Agricultural  Research  System  viz.,  National Agricultural  Research  System  (NARS)  including  ICAR  institutes  and  State  Agriculture Universities (SAUs). The NARS has contributed immensely to make India self-sufficient in food  production  and  serves  the  agricultural  technology  and  information  needs  of  the country.

(b) to (e): By recognizing the importance of irrigation, credit supply, availability of high quality  seeds  and  remunerative  prices,  the  Government  has  already  started  various schemes  such  as  Per  Drop  More  Crop  under  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchai  Yojana (PDMC-PMKSY) to increase water efficiency, Sub-mission on Seeds and Planting Material (SMSP) initiated for making quality seeds available and Minimum Support Price (MSP) of atleast 50% return over the cost of production.

To  safeguard  farmers  from  exploitation  by  the  money  lenders,  a  saturation  drive was  initiated  for  providing  them  Kisan  Credit  Card  (KCC)  for  having  access  to  Interest Subvention Scheme for concessional loans under institutional credit ambit.

(f) & (g): The  National  Crime  Records  Bureau  (NCRB)  under  the  Ministry  of  Home Affairs compiles and  disseminates  information on suicides in its publication titled 'Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India' (ADSI). NCRB has published reports upto 2020 which are available on its website.

Agriculture being a State Subject, the State  Governments  take  appropriate measures  for  development  of  agriculture  in  the  State.  However,  Government  of  India supplements  the  efforts  of  States  through  appropriate  policy  measures  and  budgetary support and various schemes/ programmes.

The  Government  has  adopted  several  developmental  programmes,  schemes, reforms  and  policies  that  focus  on  higher  incomes  for  the  farmers.  All  these  policies  & programmes are being supported by higher budgetary allocations, non-budgetary financial resources such as creating Corpus Funds like Micro Irrigation Fund etc. There have been several reforms to unleash the potential, e.g. Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs along with necessary financial support under Atma Nirbhar Package (Agriculture). Under Atma Nirbhar Bharat special attention is being paid for creation of infrastructure for which 'Agri Infrastructure Fund (AIF) has been created  with a size of Rs. 100,000 crore. Other special  initiatives  include  Supplementary  Income  transfers  under  PM-KISAN; Pradhan

Mantri  Fasal  Bima  Yojna    (PMFBY);    Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchai  Yojana  (PMKSY); Increase  in  Minimum  Support  Price  (MSPs)  for  all  Kharif  &  Rabi  Crops  ensuring  a minimum  of  50  percent  of  profit  margin  on  the  cost  of  production,  Bee-Keeping; RashtriyaGokul Mission; Blue Revolution; Interest Subvention Scheme; Kisan Credit Card (KCC) that now offers production loan to even dairy & fishery farmers besides agricultural crops  etc.  For  environmental  sustainability,  National  Mission  for  Sustainable  Agriculture (NMSA)  has  been  launched  in  the  year  2014-15  which  aims  to  evolve  and  implement strategies to make Indian agriculture more resilient to the changing climate. The adoption of Drone technologies in agriculture has a potential to revolutionize the Indian agriculture. In  order to  make  Drone technology affordable to the farmers and other stakeholders of this  sector,  financial  assistance  @  100  %  cost  of  drone  together  with  the  contingent expenditure is extended to ICAR/SAU/ State governments/ State government Institutions under  Sub-Mission  on  Agricultural  Mechanization  (SMAM)  for  its  demonstration  on  the farmer's fields.

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