Lok Sabha Question No. 355 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-20
Subject: Progress in Doubling Farmer Income
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Behanan Benny, Abdul Majeed Ariff, Uttam Kumar Nalamada Reddy

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  355

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 20 TH  JULY, 2021

## PROGRESS IN DOUBLING FARMER INCOME

355. SHRI BENNY BEHANAN: ADV. A.M. ARIFF:

SHRI UTTAM KUMAR REDDY NALAMADA:

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

(a) The progress made towards doubling of farmer income levels by the year 2022 as committed by the Government;

(b)  The  average  monthly  income  of  farmers  in  2014-  15  and  at  present  and  the methodology for calculating the same;

(c)  The  target  average  monthly income of  farmers that  the  Government  intends to achieve by 2022-23 after accounting for inflation;

(d) The reasons for the decline in allocation to the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi  (PM-KISAN)  Yojana  from  Rs.  75,000  crore  Budget  Estimate  2020-21  to  Rs. 65,000 crore Budget Estimate 2021-22;

(e) Whether this decline will impact the goal of doubling farmers' incomes; and

(f) If so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) : The strategy adopted by the Government for increasing the income is (i) higher volume  of  output  through  higher  productivity  (ii)  lower  cost  of  production  and  (iii) higher real remunerative returns on the farmers' produce.

In case of production the farmers have been registering higher productivity across all segments  of  Agriculture.  There  has  been  record  growth  in  total  output  of    food grains, oilseeds, horticulture, milk and so on. The annual production under various sectors has increased appreciably as seen at the end of the year 2020-21. These include a food grains output of 303.34 MTs as against 252.23 MTs(2015-16); 326.58 MTs  of  fruits  &  vegetables  as  against  259.3  MTs  (2015-16);  208  MTs  of  milk  as against 155.49 MTs (2015-16). Major  emphasis  has  been  on  post-harvest  management,  which  is    helping farmers in getting better returns on their produce. These include e-NAM, new state marketing Act, direct  trade,  contract  farming,  FPOs,  agri-logistics,  food  processing and so on besides healthier procurement operations. Government's  emphasis  on  robust  procurement  of  agricultural  produce  has also  ensured  better  returns  to  farmers  and  served  as  an  incentive.  In  addition  to increases in procurement of paddy & wheat through FCI, the quantum  of procurement of pulses & oilseeds has leap frogged since 2014-15. Under the new procurement  scheme  called  PM-AASHA,  NAFED  has  been  procuring  much  more than before. A list of achievements of the Government towards doubling of farmers income is at Annexure. (b)  &  (c):    As  of  now,  there  is  no  latest  estimate  of  annual  income  of  farmers achieved and the percentage annual increase vis-a-vis the base year 2015-16. For the purpose of arriving at the average annual income for the year 2015-16, the DFI Committee  extrapolated  the  NSSO  survey  based  income  estimates  for the  year 2012-13, and estimated that average farmers income stands at Rs. 96,703/- per year for the year 2015-16 at 2015-16 prices.

(d): PM-KISAN is an ongoing and continuous Scheme. The entire responsibility of identification  of  beneficiaries  rests  with  the  State  /  UT  Governments.  An  exclusive web-portal  www.pmkisan.gov.in  has  been  launched  for  the  Scheme.  The  financial benefits  are  released  to  the  beneficiaries  on  the  basis  of  the  data  of  farmers prepared and uploaded by them on the PM-KISAN web-portal. The data uploaded by the State/UT Governments undergoes three levels of validation. Data that passes all three levels of validation is then processed for the release of benefits. Any data that is found incorrect is sent back to the respective States/UTs for correction.

Budgetary allocations are made at the beginning of financial year based on the  anticipated  expenditure  to  be  incurred  in  the  financial  year,  however,  any additional  requirement  of  funds  based  on  the  actual  expenditure  is  fulfilled  by  the Government by way of supplementary grants.

(e) & (f): The  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  Samman  Nidhi  (PM-KISAN)  Scheme  is being implemented with a view to provide income support to all landholding farmer families  across  the  country,  to  enable  them  to  take  care  of  expenses  related  to agriculture  and allied  activities  as well  as  domestic needs.    The  Scheme,  effective from  1.12.2018,  aims  to  provide  a  payment  of  Rs.6000/-  per  year  for  the  farmers' families  with  cultivable  land  holding,  subject  to  certain  exclusions.    The  financial benefit of Rs.6000/- is being released by the Central Government in three 4-monthly instalments of Rs.2000/- over the year directly into the bank accounts of the eligible farmers under Direct Benefit Transfer mode. Any additional requirement of funds will be fulfilled by Government by way of supplementary grants. Central Government has been requesting State Governments from time to time so that all eligible farmers are covered under PM-KISSAN Scheme.

## ACHIEVEMENTS

## 1. Unprecedented enhancement in budget allocation

In the year 2013-14, the Budget allocation for Department of Agriculture was only Rs. 21933.50 crore. This has been increased by more than 5.5 times to Rs. 1,23017.57 crore in 2021-22.

## 2. Record food grains and horticulture production

Food grain production has increased from 265.05 million tonnes in 2013-14 to  record 303.34 million  tones in  2020-21  which  is  the  highest  ever  food grain  production  as  per  the  2 nd advance  estimates  for  2020-21.This  is  the first  time  that  the  300  million  mark  will  be  crossed.  Horticulture  production has  increased  from  280.99  million  tonnes  in  2014-15  to  320.77  million tonnesin 2019-20 which has further increased to 326.58 million tonnes in 2020-21  (1 st advance  Estimate)  which  is  the  highest  ever  for Indian horticulture.

## 3. Fixing of MSP at one-and-a half times the cost of production -

-  Government  has  increased  the  MSP  for  all  mandated  Kharif,  Rabi  and other commercial crops with a return of at least 50 per cent over all India weighted average cost of production from 2018-19.
-  MSP for Paddy has increased to Rs. 1868 per quintal in 2020-21 from Rs. 1310 per quintal in 2013-14 marking an increase of 43%.
-  MSP  for  Wheat  increased  from  Rs.  1400  per  quintal  in  2013-14  to  Rs. 1975 per quintal in 2020-21.

## 4. Increase in procurement from farmers

-  MSP payment to   farmers for pulses has increased by 95.93 times during the last five years (2016-17 to 2020-21) in comparison to the period from 2009-10 to 2013-14.  MSP Payment of Rs 61,861 Crore has been made as against Rs 645 Crore of the previous 5 years.
-  MSP payment to farmers for oilseeds and copra has increased by 10.80 times during the last five years (2016-17 to 2020-21) in comparison to the period  from 2009-10 to 2013-14.  MSP Payment of Rs 26627 Crore has been made as against Rs 2460 Crore of the previous 5 years.

## 5. Income support to farmers through PM KISAN

Launch  of  PM-KISAN  in  2019  -an  income  support  scheme  providing  Rs. 6000 per year in 3 equal instalments. A total of Rs. 1,37,192 crore has been released so far to 10.90 crore farmer families .

## Annexure

## 6. PradhanMantriFasalBimaYojana (PMFBY)

PMFBY was launched in 2016 addressing problems of high premium rates for farmers and reduction in sum insured due to capping. In past 4 years of implementation  -  23 crore farmer applicants  enrolled      and  over  7.7  crore farmer applicants have received claims of over Rs. 92,000 crore .    During this  period  nearly  Rs.17,537  crore  were  paid  by  farmers  as  their  share  of premium against which claims of nearly Rs.92,000 Crore have been paid to them. Thus,  for  every  100  rupees  of  premium  paid  by  farmers,  they  have received Rs. 520 as claims.

## 7. Institutional credit for agriculture sector

-  Increased from Rs. 7.3 lakh crore in 2013-14 with a target to reach Rs. 16.5 lakh crore in 2021-22.
-  Benefit  of  concessional  institutional  credit  through  KCC  at  4%  interest per  annum  has  also  now  been  extended  to  Animal  Husbandry  and Fisheries farmers for meeting theirshort-term working capital needs.
-  A  special  drive  has  been  undertaken  since  February  2020  to  provide concessional  credit  to  PM-KISAN  beneficiaries  through  Kisan  Credit Cards.  210.27 lakh new KCC applications sanctioned and Rs. 2,04,292 crore loan sanctioned as part of the drive.

## 8. Providing Soil Health Cards to farmers

Soil  Health  Card  Scheme  was  introduced  in  the  year  2014-15  to  optimize usage of nutrients. Soil health cards have been issued free of cost to nearly 11 crore farmers under a nationwide program.

## 9. Promotion of organic farming in the country

-  ParamparagatKrishiVikasYojana  (PKVY)  was  initiated  in  2015-16  to promote  organic  farming  in  the  country.  30934  clusters  have  been formed and an area of 6.19 lakh ha has been covered benefitting 15.47 lakh farmers.
-  Mission  Organic Value Chain  Development  in  North  East  Region (MOVCDNER)  has  been  launched.  170  Farmer  Producer  Companies have been formed comprising of 83,096 farmers and covering 79,445 ha area.

## 10. Neem Coated  Urea

Neem  Coated  Urea  has  been  introduced  since  2015-16  to  ensure  long availability  of  nutrients  in  the  soil  by  slow  release  of  nitrogen.  It  has  also helped in curtailing diversion of urea for non- agricultural activities.

## 11. Agri Infrastructure Fund

Rs. 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) has been launched to  provide  medium  to  long  term  debt  financing  for  investment  in  viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets  through  3%  interest  subvention  and  Credit  Guarantee  support  for loans  uptoRs. 2 crore.   As on date, 3055 projects of Primary Agricultural Credit  Societies  worth  a  loan  amount  of  Rs.  2991  crore  have  been sanctioned by NABARD.  1134 Projects (other than PACs) worth Rs. 1155 Crore have already been approved by PMU for financing under the scheme. Rs.286 crore has been sanctioned by banks for 276 projects.

## 12. Promotion of FPOs

-  Scheme for Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs launched with a total budgetary provision of Rs. 6865 Crore in February 2020.
-  The  scheme  was  formally  launched  by  the  Hon'ble  Prime  Minister  on 28th February,  2020  at  Chitrakoot,  UP.  The  First  Anniversary  of  the launching  of  the  Scheme  was  celebrated  on  1st Match,  2021  wherein Hon'ble  Agriculture  Minister  ShriNarendra  Singh  Tomar  was  the  chief Guest.
-  Initially  there  will  be  three  implementing  Agencies  viz.  Small  Farmers Agri-Business  Consortium  (SFAC),  National  Cooperative  Development Corporation  (NCDC)  and  National  Bank  for  Agriculture  and  Rural Development  (NABARD)  to  form  and  promote  FPOs.  Additionally,  06 more  Implementing  Agencies  (IAs)  have  been  have  been  finalized  for formation and promotion of FPOs viz. National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), North Eastern Regional Agricultural  Marketing  Corporation  Limited  (NERAMAC),  Tamil  NaduSmall  Farmers  Agri-Business  Consortium  (TN-SFAC),  Small  Farmers Agri-Business Consortium Haryana (SFACH), Watershed Development Department (WDD)- Karnataka & Foundation for Development of Rural Value Chains (FDRVC)- Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).
-  Cluster Based Business Organizations (CBBOs) have been empanelled by different IAs and already allocated blocks to them.
-  At  national  level,  a  National  Project  Management  Agency  (NPMA)  is engaged  for providing overall project  guidance,  data  maintenance through integrated portal and information management and monitoring.
-  During  2020-21,  more  than  2300  FPO  produce  clusters  have  been allocated to respective Implementing Agencies (IAs).
-  So far, 245 FPOs already registered under new FPO scheme.
-  Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), Lucknow had launched training modules for FPOs, CBBOs, IAs & other stakeholders etc.
-  As  per  the  Scheme  Guidelines,  a  Credit  Guarantee  Fund  of  Rs.1000 Crore  to  be  created  in  NABARD  with  equal  contribution  from  the Government  and NABARD. Accordingly, the first annual contribution of Rs. 115 crore was released to NABARD in the month of March 2021".
13. A National Bee and Honey Mission (NBHM) has been launched in 2020 as part of the AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. Rs.500 crore for the period 20202021 to 2022-2023 has been allocated for the sector.
14. Per Drop More component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY-PDMC) :    Per Drop more Crop component of PradhanMantriKrishiSinchaiYojana(PMKSY - PDMC) aims to increase water use efficiency at the farm level through  Micro Irrigation technologies i.e. drip and  sprinkler  irrigation  systems.  An  area  of 56.31 lakh  hectare  area  has been  covered under  micro  irrigation  from  the  year  2015-16  till  date  in  the country. An amount of Rs. 14,548.04 crore as central assistance has been provided to states under PMKSY-PDMC since 2015-16.

## 15. Micro Irrigation Fund

A Micro Irrigation Fund of Rs 5000 crore has been placed with NABARD.  In the  Budget  for  2021-22  the  corpus  of  the  fund  has  been  increased  to Rs.10000crores. Projects worth Rs 3970.17 crore covering 12.83 lakh hectares have been approved.

## 16. Agricultural Mechanization

Agricultural  mechanisation  is  extremely  vital  to  modernise  agriculture  and reduce drudgery of farming operations.  During the period from 2014-15 to 2020-21 an amount of Rs.4633.35 crore have been allocated for agricultural mechanisation. 1291198 numbers of machines and equipments have been provided to farmers on subsidy.   14182 custom hiring centers, 310 high-tech hubs and 13371 farm machinery banks have been established.

## 17. Changes in Disaster Relief Standards

-  Major  changes  were  made  in  disaster  relief  standards  and  assistance amount of all categories was increased by one and a half times.
-  Earlier, compensation was payable only on crop loss of more than 50%. Compensation is now payable even if the loss is 33% only.
-  The  Ex-gratia  payment  to  families  of  deceased  victims  of  natural disasters has been increased from Rs.1.5 lakh to Rs.4 lakh.
-  Admissibility of assistance has been increased from one hectare to two hectare.

## 18. Setting up of E-NAM extension Platform

-  In 18 states and 03 UTs, 1000 markets have been integrated with the ENAM  Platform.  In  the  Budget  2021-22,  another  1000  mandis  will  be integrated with e-NAM.
-  As of 09.05.2021, total volume of 4.41 crore MT & 6.10 crore numbers (Bamboo,  Betel  Leaves,  Coconut,  Lemon  &  Sweet  corn)  collectively worth approximately Rs. 1.35 lakh crore of trade has been recorded on e-NAM platform.

## 19. Improvement in farm produce logistics, Introduction of Kisan Rail.

Kisan Rail has been launched by Ministry of Railways to exclusively cater to movement of perishable agri-horti commodities. First Kisan rail was started in August  2020.    Currently,  658  No.  of  trips  on  58  routes  are  being  operated through Kisan Rails by Indian Railways.

## 20. Creation of a Start-up Eco system in agriculture and allied sector

646  start-ups  in  the  agriculture  and  allied  sectors  have  been  selected  for funding for a sum of Rs. 69.92 crore in instalments and a total of Rs. 33.94 crore  have  been  released     (  as  a  1st  instalment  and  2nd  installment)   for funding  these  start-ups.  These  start-ups  were  trained  for  two  months  at various  agribusiness  incubation  centres  i.e.  Knowledge  Partners  (KPs) &RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs).

## 21. Successful control of Two major Locust Attacks

In  the  country  in  2019-20  &  2020-21  by  aggressively  carrying  out  control operations including use of drones for locust control.

Locust  attack  was  reported  in  India  during  2019-20  and  2020-21,  when locusts  migrated  to  India  after  a  gap  of  26  years.  During  2019-20,  locust incursion  was  reported  in  three  States  of  Rajasthan,  Gujarat  and  Punjab, while in 2020-21, there was locust incursion in ten States. However, due to the  concerted  and  coordinated  efforts  of  the  Central  Government,  State Governments  and  the  Farmers  the  Locust  incursions  were  effectively controlled.

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