Lok Sabha Question No. 1350 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-30
Subject: Increasing Agricultural Productivity
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Omprakash Bhupalsinh Alias Pavan Rajenimbalkar, Shri Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1350

TO BE ANSWERED ON 30 TH  JULY, 2024

## INCREASING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY

†1350.      SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH ALIAS PAVAN RAJENIMBALKAR: SHRI SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV:

Will the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare कृ ͪष  एवं  ͩकसान  कãयाण  मंğी be pleased to state;

- (a)  the  specific  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  increase  agricultural  productivity, improve crop yields and ensure food security in the country by the year 2024, State/UTwise;
- (b)  the progress made in the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKisan)  Yojana  during  the last  five  years  and  its  impact  on  the  income  and  welfare  of farmers, year-wise;
- (c)  the initiatives taken by the Government to promote sustainable agricultural practices such as organic farming, agroforestry and water conservation;
- (d)  the impact of the said practices on agricultural sustainability and farmers' livelihoods; and
- (e)  the steps taken by the Government to address challenges faced by farmers due to climate change such as drought, floods, pests and to provide them adequate help and support?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण राÏय मंğी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)

(a)  The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) is implementing National Food Security Mission (NFSM) with the objective of increasing foodgrains production through increase  in  productivity  and  area  expansion  in  all  the  28  states  and  2  Union  Territories (Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh) of the country. Under (NFSM) assistance is given through state  governments  to  farmers  for  interventions  like  cluster  demonstrations  on  improved package  of  practices,  demonstrations  on  cropping  system,  distribution  of  seeds  of  High

Yielding Varieties (HYVs)/hybrids, improved farm machineries/resource conservation machineries/tools,  efficient  water  application  tools,  plant  protection  measures,  nutrient management/soil ameliorants, processing & post-harvest equipment, cropping system based trainings to the farmers etc.

(b) The  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  Samman  Nidhi  (PM-KISAN)  is  a  Central  Sector Scheme, which aims at providing financial assistance to all landholding farmer families across the country, subject to certain exclusion criteria, to enable them to take care of expenses related to agriculture and allied activities as well as domestic needs.  Under the Scheme, an amount of Rs.  6000/-  per  year  is  transferred  in  three  4-monthly  instalments  of  Rs.2000/directly into the bank accounts of the farmers. Around 85% of the PM-KISAN beneficiaries are Small and Marginal farmers. Further, one in every 4 beneficiaries is a woman. The funds disbursed under the initiative  have acted as a catalyst in rural economic growth, aided in alleviating the credit constraints of farmers, and increased investments in agricultural inputs. The scheme has enhanced farmers' risk-taking capacity, leading them to undertake riskier but comparatively productive investments. PM-KISAN scheme has made a notable impact on various sections of society and agriculture sector. According to a study conducted by IFPRI, (International Food and Policy Research Institute), the funds received by recipients under PM-KISAN are not only helping them with their agricultural needs, but it is also catering to their other expenses such as education, medical, marriage, etc. The details of beneficiaries and amount released under PM-KISAN is given at Annexure.

(c)  to (e)  The Government is taking several measures to promote sustainable agriculture in the country. The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is one of the Missions within the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) which is being implemented by Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Farmers  Welfare.  The  Mission  aims  to  evolve  and  implement strategies  to  make  Indian  agriculture  more  resilient  to  the  changing  climate.  NMSA  was approved for three major components i.e. Rainfed Area Development (RAD); On Farm Water Management (OFWM); and Soil Health Management (SHM). Subsequently, new programmes such as namely Soil Health Card (SHC), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Mission Organic Value Chain Development in North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER), Per Drop More Crop, National Bamboo Mission (NBM) etc. were also included.

Under NMSA, Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme promotes water use efficiency at the farm  level  through  Micro  Irrigation  technologies  i.e.  drip  and  sprinkler  irrigation  systems. Rainfed Area Development (RAD) focuses on Integrated Farming System (IFS) for enhancing productivity and minimizing risks associated with climatic variability.

The Government is implementing Soil Health Management & Soil Health Card Schemes under  the  National  Project  on  Soil  Health  &  Fertility  of  National  Mission  for  Sustainable Agriculture. Soil health card provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its productivity.

Government is promoting Natural Farming since 2019-2020 through Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP) programme under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY). The scheme mainly emphasizes on exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs and promotes on- farm  biomass  recycling  with  major  stress  on  biomass  mulching,  use  of  cow  dung-  urine formulations and other plant-based preparations.

Further, ICAR has implemented All India Network Programme on Organic Farming (AINPOF)  with  20  cooperating  centres  covering  16  States  to  develop  package  of  practices  for organic  production  of  crops  in  cropping  and  farming  systems  perspective.  The  scheme involves 11 State Agricultural Universities, 8 ICAR institutes/centres and 1 special heritage university.  Package  of  practices  for  organic  production  of  crops  in  cropping  systems perspective have been developed for 72 cropping systems suitable for 16 states. Also eight integrated organic farming system models has been developed for 7 states.

Moreover, (ICAR) has launched a flagship network project namely National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) to promote climate resilient agricultural practices. In total, 1888 climate resilient crop varieties including 891 of cereals, 319 of oilseeds, 338 of pulses, 103 of forage crops, 182 of fibre crops, 45 of sugar crops, and 10 of other crops have been  developed.  Further,  over  the  years  68  climate  resilient  technologies  have  been demonstrated in 454 villages on 15857 farmers' fields. Moreover, to protect the farmers from abnormal  weather  conditions  ICAR  in  collaboration  with  India  Meteorological  Department (IMD) is issuing Agromet advisories twice a week (Tuesday and Friday) through Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva program.

Additionally, to  protect  the  farmers from  climate  hazards,  Government  has  introduced flagship yield based Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) along with weather index based Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) from Kharif 2016. The  scheme  aims  at  supporting  sustainable  production  in  agriculture  sector  by  way  of providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/ damage arising out of unforeseen natural calamities, adverse weather incidence and to help in stabilize the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming. Comprehensive risk insurance to farmers is provided against  unpreventable  natural  calamities  such  as  drought,  dry-spells,  flood,  hailstorm, inundation etc. under the scheme for entire crop cycle including pre-sowing to post-harvest losses.

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Q No. 1350 Due for reply on 30.07.2024

## Details of Instalments, No. of Beneficiaries and Amount disbursed under PM-KISAN

| Instalments                            | No. of Beneficiaries   | Amount Disbursed (in Rs.)   |
|----------------------------------------|------------------------|-----------------------------|
| 1 st Instalment (Dec 2018-March 2019)  | 3,16,19,818            | 63,23,96,36,000             |
| 2 nd Instalment (April-July 2019)      | 6,00,34,422            | 1,32,71,92,40,000           |
| 3 rd Instalment (August-Nov 2019)      | 7,65,99,694            | 1,75,26,85,76,000           |
| 4 th Instalment (Dec 2019-March 2020)  | 8,20,89,926            | 1,79,42,63,62,000           |
| 5 th Instalment (April-July 2020)      | 9,26,93,598            | 2,09,89,36,34,000           |
| 6 th Instalment (August-Nov 2020)      | 9,72,25,766            | 2,04,75,91,00,000           |
| 7 th Instalment (Dec 2020-March 2021)  | 9,84,73,142            | 2,04,74,51,20,000           |
| 8 th Instalment (April-July 2021)      | 9,99,01,625            | 2,24,10,60,20,000           |
| 9 th Instalment (August-Nov 2021)      | 10,34,39,266           | 2,23,94,07,54,000           |
| 10 th Instalment (Dec 2021-March 2022) | 10,41,66,033           | 2,23,42,68,32,000           |
| 11 th Instalment (April-July 2022)     | 10,48,35,922           | 2,26,15,21,32,000           |
| 12 th Instalment (August-Nov 2022)     | 8,57,26,707            | 1,80,38,99,16,000           |
| 13 th Instalment (Dec 2022-March 2023) | 8,12,32,815            | 1,76,49,04,14,000           |
| 14 th Instalment (April-July 2023)     | 8,56,76,297            | 1,92,02,21,76,000           |
| 15 th Instalment (August-Nov 2023)     | 8,12,16,118            | 1,95,96,54,26,000           |
| 16 th Instalment (Dec 2023-March 2024) | 9,04,02,811            | 2,30,80,61,04,000           |
| 17 th Instalment (April-July 2024)     | 9,25,71,834            | 2,00,67,02,38,000           |

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