Lok Sabha Question No. 2549 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-16
Subject: Incentives to Farmers Cultivating Commercial Crops
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Ms Kangna Ranaut, Shri Jashubhai Bhilubhai Rathva, Shri Mahendra Singh Solanky, Shri P P Chaudhary, Shri Rajkumar Chahar, Dr. Rajesh Mishra, Shri Balabhadra Majhi, Shri Rodmal Nagar, Shri Sukanta Kumar Panigrahi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2549

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 16 TH  DECEMBER, 2025

## INCENTIVES TO FARMERS CULTIVATING COMMERCIAL CROPS

## 2549.  SHRI JASHUBHAI BHILUBHAI RATHVA:

MS KANGNA RANAUT:

SHRI VISHWESHWAR HEGDE KAGERI:

SHRI BALABHADRA MAJHI:

SHRI P P CHAUDHARY:

SHRI MAHENDRA SINGH SOLANKY:

SHRI RODMAL NAGAR:

SHRI SUKANTA KUMAR PANIGRAHI:

SHRI RAJKUMAR CHAHAR:

DR RAJESH MISHRA:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is providing incentives to farmers cultivating commercial crops such as cotton, sugarcane, jute, rubber, and horticulture crops and if so, the details of support provided through schemes including NFSNM, MSP assistance, cluster-based development and value-chain strengthening, State-wise, particularly Dewas-Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh;
- (b) the  production  and  productivity  of  major  commercial  crops  during  the  last three  years, State-wise  particularly  Pali  in  Rajasthan,  Dewas-Shajapur  in  Madhya  Pradesh  and  Himachal Pradesh;
- (c) the  steps  taken  to  promote  new  technologies  such  as  genome  editing,  precision agriculture, smart irrigation and high-density planting particularly for cotton and sugarcane and the number of crops currently included under the genome-editing project of ICAR, State-wise particularly Dewas-Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh;
- (d)  the  number  of  farmers  who  have  been  assigned  unique  digital  IDs  under  the  AgriStack ecosystem, and how this digital  enablement  supports  transparency,  real-time  advisories,  and farmer income enhancement; and
- (e) the number of farmers engaged in commercial farming in Sidhi Parliamentary Constituency and the efforts taken to encourage them?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण राǛ मंũी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)

- (a): Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is implementing a scheme on commercial crops viz.,  cotton,  jute  &  allied  fibres  and  sugarcane  in  19  states  including  Madhya  Pradesh  under National Food Security & Nutrition Mission (NFSNM) [erstwhile National Food Security Mission (NFSM)]  from  2014-15. Under  this  scheme,  thrust  has  been  given  on  transfer  of  technology through demonstrations and training in order to extend benefits to the farmers.

Rubber  Board  is  implementing  the  Central  Sector  Scheme  'Sustainable  and  Inclusive Development  of  Natural  Rubber  Sector'  for  the  development  of  natural  rubber  sector  in  the country.

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  &  medicinal  plants, coconut,  cashew,  cocoa  and  bamboo. All States  and  UTs  are  covered  under  MIDH  scheme. Further, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has launched Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (HCDP), a new scheme for selected high value horticulture crops. This programme is  designed  to  leverage  the  geographical  specialization  of  horticulture  clusters  and  promote integrated  and  market  led  development  of  pre-production,  production,  post-harvest,  logistics, branding and marketing activities.

Government fixes Minimum Support Price (MSP) of cotton & jute and Fair & Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane.

(b):  The production and productivity of major commercial crops viz., cotton, jute & mesta and sugarcane during last three years is Annexed.

(c):    To  promote new  technologies  such  as genome  editing,  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural Research (ICAR) has initiated genome editing project in 2023. The project on 'Enhancing Climate Resilience and Ensuring Food Security with Genome Editing Tools' is focusing on 24 field crops including cotton and sugarcane in different ICAR research institutions.

A special project on cotton titled 'Targeting technologies to agro-ecological zones- large scale demonstrations of best practices to enhance cotton productivity' is being implemented by ICAR- Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur under NFSNM from 2023-24 wherein High Density Planting System (HDPS) is promoted.

ICAR-Indian Sugarcane  Research  Institute  (ISRI),  Lucknow  and  ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding  Institute,  Coimbatore  are  conducting  research  in  areas  such  as genome  editing, precision agriculture and smart irrigation in sugarcane. ICAR-ISRI has unveiled a model called IKSHU-Cane (Integrated Knowledge System for Sugarcane Harvest Output) to predict sugarcane growth and yield , assess soil and climatic factors, and simulate sugar yield for diverse varieties in tropical/subtropical zones.

ICAR has initiated a new Sub-scheme on "Enabling climate resilience and ensuring food & nutritional security through genome editing in horticultural crops". Horticultural crops which are currently  included  under  this  genome  editing  project  are  apple,  banana,  grapes,  papaya, pomegranate, tomato, chilli, cucumber, muskmelon, onion, potato, cassava, ginger, black pepper, cumin, coriander and marigold.

(d):  The  Government  has  approved  the  Digital  Agriculture  Mission  in  Fifteenth  Finance Commission.  The  Mission  envisages  the  creation  of  a  Digital  Public  Infrastructure  (DPI)  for Agriculture, such as AgriStack, Krishi Decision Support System, a Comprehensive Soil Fertility & Profile Map and other IT initiatives undertaken by the Central Government / State Government to enable a robust digital agriculture ecosystem in the country. This, in turn, would drive innovative farmer-centric  digital  solutions  and  make  them  reliable.  The  AgriStack  DPI  consists  of  three foundational  registries  or  databases  associated  with  agriculture  sector,  i.e.,  Geo-Reference Village Maps, Crop Sown Registry, and the Farmers Registry, all created and maintained by the State Governments / Union Territories.

The state Farmer Registry under the digital agriculture mission covers all the landholding farmers. Farmer registry  application  also  has  the  provision  to  onboard  the  tenant  and  lessee farmers. A State can decide to include such farmers in the farmers' registry as per the state's policy on tenants and lessee farmers. Further, as of 10.12.2025, a total of 7,70,65,153 Farmer IDs have been generated.

(e): As reported by the Directorate Farmer Welfare & Agriculture Development, Government of Madhya  Pradesh,  in  Sidhi  Parliamentary  Constituency,  6418  farmers  are  actively  involved  in commercial farming. Farmers are being supported by providing high quality inputs and conducting regular capacity building activities, including training sessions, demonstrations and field visits.

## Sugarcane

## State-wise Production & Productivity of major Commercial Crops

(Production in lakh tonnes & Productivity in tonnes/ha)

|       |                  | Production   | Production   | Production   | Productivity   | Productivity   | Productivity   |
|-------|------------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
| S.No. | State            | 2022-23      | 2023-24      | 2024-25      | 2022-23        | 2023-24        | 2024-25        |
| 1     | Andhra Pradesh   | 29.56        | 22.14        | 19.85        | 73.89          | 80.53          | 90.24          |
| 2     | Assam            | 12.64        | 13.80        | 12.38        | 43.59          | 47.23          | 42.34          |
| 3     | Bihar            | 127.43       | 120.84       | 121.49       | 60.63          | 59.78          | 63.09          |
| 4     | Chhattisgarh     | 23.88        | 20.41        | 18.66        | 56.89          | 57.16          | 55.93          |
| 5     | Gujarat          | 134.61       | 144.80       | 137.14       | 74.34          | 71.62          | 72.65          |
| 6     | Haryana          | 88.60        | 73.74        | 58.30        | 82.23          | 83.58          | 81.38          |
| 7     | Himachal Pradesh | 0.22         | 0.22         | 0.21         | 15.44          | 15.44          | 15.44          |
| 8     | Karnataka        | 593.46       | 418.11       | 480.60       | 90.00          | 77.00          | 89.00          |
| 9     | Madhya Pradesh   | 64.44        | 75.90        | 61.09        | 70.04          | 66.00          | 57.09          |
| 10    | Maharashtra      | 1239.68      | 1120.88      | 1099.70      | 91.20          | 78.00          | 94.23          |
| 11    | Odisha           | 3.94         | 4.12         | 6.81         | 53.78          | 57.40          | 51.34          |
| 12    | Punjab           | 75.06        | 75.10        | 72.79        | 83.12          | 83.25          | 82.05          |
| 13    | Rajasthan        | 3.10         | 3.45         | 4.65         | 87.96          | 82.98          | 79.98          |
| 14    | Tamil Nadu       | 176.58       | 159.27       | 133.51       | 111.08         | 105.00         | 102.00         |
| 15    | Telangana        | 29.43        | 24.33        | 19.16        | 105.10         | 90.12          | 93.06          |
| 16    | Uttar Pradesh    | 2242.46      | 2158.11      | 2208.01      | 80.24          | 81.35          | 81.17          |
| 17    | Uttarakhand      | 37.60        | 77.76        | 76.50        | 80.00          | 82.65          | 84.66          |
| 18    | West Bengal      | 14.43        | 11.04        | 8.79         | 78.20          | 66.58          | 66.58          |
|       | All India        | 4905.33      | 4531.58      | 4546.11      | 83.35          | 78.95          | 83.42          |

## Cotton

(Production in lakh bales & Productivity in kg/ha.)

| S.No.   | State          | Production   | Production   | Production   | Productivity   | Productivity   | Productivity   |
|---------|----------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
| S.No.   | State          | 2022-23      | 2023-24      | 2024-25      | 2022-23        | 2023-24        | 2024-25        |
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh | 15.41        | 7.37         | 11.31        | 372            | 297            | 476            |
| 2       | Gujarat        | 87.95        | 90.57        | 71.57        | 602            | 574            | 513            |
| 3       | Haryana        | 10.00        | 15.09        | 11.77        | 296            | 444            | 502            |
| 4       | Karnataka      | 25.68        | 20.59        | 22.73        | 460            | 471            | 570            |
| 5       | Madhya Pradesh | 14.33        | 18.01        | 15.35        | 410            | 486            | 486            |
| 6       | Maharashtra    | 83.16        | 80.45        | 73.73        | 338            | 323            | 304            |
| 7       | Odisha         | 7.05         | 7.05         | 8.23         | 554            | 554            | 586            |
| 8       | Punjab         | 4.44         | 6.29         | 4.14         | 303            | 500            | 439            |
| 9       | Rajasthan      | 27.74        | 26.22        | 17.86        | 579            | 444            | 484            |
| 10      | Tamil Nadu     | 3.19         | 2.52         | 2.11         | 313            | 330            | 350            |
| 11      | Telangana      | 57.45        | 50.80        | 57.89        | 495            | 475            | 543            |
|         | All India      | 336.60       | 325.22       | 297.24       | 443            | 436            | 440            |

## Jute & Mesta

(Production in thousand bales & Productivity in kg/ha.)

|       |             | Production   | Production   | Production   | Productivity   | Productivity   | Productivity   |
|-------|-------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
| S.No. | State       | 2022-23      | 2023-24      | 2024-25      | 2022-23        | 2023-24        | 2024-25        |
| 1     | Assam       | 709.47       | 673.43       | 729.26       | 2094           | 2037           | 2107           |
| 2     | Bihar       | 772.82       | 985.72       | 846.35       | 2309           | 2661           | 2581           |
| 3     | Odisha      | 51.17        | 58.55        | 44.26        | 1488           | 1642           | 1529           |
| 4     | West Bengal | 7747.04      | 7865.69      | 7027.64      | 2701           | 2883           | 2932           |
|       | All India   | 9391.60      | 9692.31      | 8801.57      | 2570           | 2737           | 2758           |