Lok Sabha Question No. 220 (STARRED), answered on 2024-08-06
Subject: New Agricultural Policy
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Smt. Sajda Ahmed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 220

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 06 TH  AUGUST, 2024

## NEW AGRICULTURAL POLICY

## *220.   SMT. SAJDA AHMED:

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

- (a) the measures taken by the Government to address the policy lag in the agricultural sector;
- (b)  whether  the  new  agricultural  policy  proposed  by  the  Government  aims  at  improving  the existing challenges faced by farmers in country and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the measures taken by Government to tackle climate change and promote sustainable farming practices in the country?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी (SHRI SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN)

- (a) to (c): A statement is laid on the Table of the house.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (c)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 220 REGARDING 'NEW AGRICULTURAL POLICY' FOR REPLY ON 06 TH  AUGUST, 2024.

(a) & (b): Government of India is very concerned about agriculture and welfare of farmers and it  is  consistently  working  in  collaboration  with  the  State  Governments to address  various issues.  A  number  of  initiatives  for  welfare  of  farmers  through  policy  measures  and  schemes/ programmes have been introduced whenever a need was felt for the welfare of farmers and to make farming more remunerative and the farmers financially more secure. Details of the schemes / initiatives are given in annexure .

(c) : To  address  the  issue  of  climate  change,  the  Government  is  implementing  National Mission  for  Sustainable  Agriculture  (NMSA)  with  the  aim  to  make  Indian  agriculture  more resilient to the changing climate. The NMSA is one of the missions under National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) which supports sustainable agricultural production in the country through  its  various  schemes.  Initially  NMSA  was  approved  for  three  major  components comprising, Rainfed Area Development (RAD); On-Farm Water Management (OFWM); and Soil Health Management (SHM). Subsequently, new programmes such as Soil Health Card (SHC), Parampragat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Mission Organic Value Chain Development in North Eastern  Region  (MOVCDNER),  Per  Drop  More  Crop  (PDMC),  National  Bamboo  Mission (NBM) etc. were also included.

To increase production and productivity of the field & commercial crops in the country, Government of India is implementing National Food Security Mission (NFSM) on rice, wheat pulses, coarse cereals, nutri-cereals and Commercial Crops (cotton, jute & sugarcane). Under this scheme, assistance is being provided to farmers on cluster demonstrations, distribution of certified seeds/  hybrids, improved and resource conservation farm implements/ machines, water saving devices, plant protection chemicals, bio pesticides, cropping system based training to the farmers and soil ameliorants etc. New initiatives like distribution of seed minikits of newer varieties free of  cost,  production of quality  seed  (breeder  and certified seed),  creation  of seed  hubs at  State Agriculture Universities  (SAUs)  and Krishi Vikas  Kendras  (KVKs), cluster  demonstration  by KVKs have been included under NFSM for enhancing production and productivity of pulses and nutri-cereals. The Commercial Crops (cotton/jute/ sugarcane) primarily focus on cropping system approach for transfer of technology in the identified States.

## Major achievements of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare since 2014

1.  Unprecedented  enhancement  in  budget  allocation: In  the  year  2013-14  the  budget allocation of Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare was only 21933.50 crore. This has increased by more than 5.5 times to Rs. 1,22,528.77 crore in 2024-25.
2.     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 installments. More than Rs. 3.24 lakh crore has been released so far to more than 11 crore farmers as of now.
3.   Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)   : Eight year (Provisional) - PMFBY was launched in 2016 addressing problems of high premium rates for farmers and reduction in sum  insured  due  to  capping.  In  past  8  Years  of  implementation  -  62.60  crore  farmer applications enrolled and over 17.80 crore (Provisional) farmer applicants have received claims of over Rs. 1,60,838 crore.   During this period nearly Rs.32,280 crore were paid by farmers as their share of premium against which claims over Rs.1,63,518.70 crore (Provisional) have been paid to them.  Thus  for  every  100  rupees  of  premium  paid  by  farmers,  they  have  received about  Rs. 498  as claims.

DigiClaim -  For  transparency  in  calculation  and  payment  of  claims,  Claim  Payment Module  for  payment  of  claims  directly  to  the  farmer's  account  through  National  Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) using PFMS platform has been launched for implementation from Kharif   2022  season  claims  onwards.   All  the  claims  are  now  been  paid  by  insurance companies directly to farmers through Digiclaim.

SARTHI Sandbox for Agricultural & Rural Security, Technology & Insurance : It  is an  innovative  stride  conceived  by  the  Government.   Its  primary  goal  is  to  augment  the financial resilience of farming community against multifaceted Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risks they encounter.  This pioneering platform goes beyond traditional crop insurance, aiming to provide a comprehensive suite of insurance products  tailored mainly for farmers and rural India.

KRPH -Krishi  Rakshak  Portal  and  Helpline has  been  launched  to  create  efficient grievance redressal mechanism for farmers under PMFBY.  A dedicated Centralized Toll Free  Number  14447   has  been  launched  to  facilitate  query  resolution  and  grievance redressal at national level.  On registration of complaint, a unique ticket number is created, through which complainant can track the progress of their complaint.  Grievance is required to  be  resolved  within  stipulated  time  frame.   It  will  also  help  the  State  and  Central Government to monitor the grievances.

## 4.    Institutional credit for agriculture sector

-  Institutional credit target to Agriculture has increased more than 2.5 times since 2014- 15 from ₹  8 lakh crores to ₹  20 lakh crores in 2023-24.
-  Disbursement of easy and concessional crop-loan to help the farmers in accessing short- term agriculture credit from institutional sources has increased more than two times  since 2014-15 from ₹ 6.4 lakh crore to ₹ 14.79 lakh crore in 2023-24.
-  Interest subsidy given to farmers through KCC has increased 2.4 times since 2014-15  from ₹ 6000 crore to ₹ 14252 crores in 2023-24.
-  The number of accounts of Small and Marginal Farmers availing agriculture loans  increased from 57% in 2014-15 to 76 % in 2023-24.

## 5. 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 (common) has increased to Rs. 2300 per quintal in 2023-24 from Rs.  1310 per quintal in 2013-14.
-  MSP for Wheat increased from Rs. 1400 per quintal in 2013-14 to Rs. 2275 per quintal i  n 2023-24.
6.        (A) Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY): The Parampragat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) is the first comprehensive scheme launched in 2015-16 by the Central Government as a centrally sponsored programme (CSP) for promotion of organic farming in the country.

Total fund released Rs 2078.67 Cr since 2015-16 (as on 30.06.2024).

Under PKVY Scheme 38043 clusters (20 ha each) formed, 8.41 lakh ha area covered including LAC.

In addition to above under natural farming fund released for an area of 4.09 lakh ha area to 8 states and Under Namami Gange Programme funds Rs 272.85 crore has been released total  9551 clusters formed and 1.91 lakh ha area covered.

A dedicated online web portal- www.Jaivikkheti.in/ has been created to encourage, sale of organic products directly by farmers to consumers farming by directly connecting the consumers. On Jaivik-kheti portal total 6.23 lakh farmers have been registered.

Various Brands have been developed by the State for marketing of Organic Produce under the PKVY Scheme.

Government has initiated Large Area Certification (LAC) programme since 2020-21 to certify large traditional/default organic areas such as hills, islands, tribal or desert belt with no past history of GMO and agro chemical uses.

-  Under this  programme  14,445  ha  area  under  Car  Nicobar  and  Nancowry  group  of islands  in Union Territory of A&N Islands have been certified to transform entire territory of  these islands to organic similar to Sikkim.
-  Proposal of 5000 ha area has been received from Ladakh under LAC and fund Rs 11.475  lakh has been released.
-  The entire cultivable land of 2700 ha area of Lakshadweep have been certified organic  under Large area certification
-  Under Large area certification fund Rs 96.39 lakh has been released for 60,000 ha area to  the State Government of Sikkim

B) Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) Scheme: The MOVCDNER  scheme  aims at development of commodity specific, concentrated, certified organic production clusters in value chain mode to link growers with consumers and to support the development of entire value chain starting from inputs, seeds, certification, to the creation of facilities for collection, aggregation, processing, marketing and brand building initiative in Northeast Region (Arunachal Pradesh,  Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura). The main focus of the scheme is on export of produce. The scheme was approved with an outlay of Rs. 400 crore for three years during the year 2015-16. The scheme has completed two phases of three years each and is now moving forward in Phase III.

Summary Achievements

Total fund released Rs 1150.09 Cr since 2015-16 (as on 30.06.2024).

379 FPO/FPCs created covering 189039 farmers and 172966 ha area

394 Collection, Aggregation, Grading units, Custom Hiring Centres, 123 processing and pack house entities created under FPO/FPCs and private ownership

145 transportation vehicles provided to FPO/FPCs

7 states developed their own brands

Marketing  facilitation  of  ginger,  turmeric,  pineapple  and  king  chilli  have  been  major success and FPCs have been supported with buyback agreements

The  export  of  king  chilli  sauce,  pineapple  (canned)  and  ginger  flakes  to  UK,  USA, Australia, France and Swaziland have already started

Industry mentorship model with necessary infrastructure development with 3 FPCs

Contract production of Ginger and Turmeric with 100% buyback assurance finalized with 3FPOs in Arunachal Pradesh with Parvata Foods

Contract  cultivation  of  other  high  value  crops  such  as  Perila,  black  thai  ginger  and Calandula flowers is under process.

## C)  National Mission on Natural Farming

-  Natural Farming is way of chemical free farming based on the livestock and locally  available  resources  with  no  fertilizer  and  pesticides.  GoI  is  promoting  Natural Farming  since  2019-20  through  a  sub-scheme  'BhartiyaPrakratikKrishiPaddhati  (BPKP)' under  Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY) in limited area.
-  Under  BPKP,  4.09  lakh  ha  area  has  been  covered  in  8  states  Andhra  Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,  Kerala,  Himachal  Pradesh,  Jharkhand,  Odisha, Madhya Pradesh  and Tamil Nadu.
-  Prime Minister  at  various  platforms  has  emphasized  on  the  need  to  promote  natural farming  as  mass  movement.  Hon'ble  Finance  Minister  in  her  budget  speech  also, emphasized the  need for promotion of agrochemical free natural farming.
-  Therefore, to achieve the vision of Hon'ble PM and Budget Announcement, a dedicated  centrally  sponsored  schemes  'National  Mission  on  Natural  Farming  (NMNF)'  is being  launched.
-  Committee  of  Secretaries  (CoS)  and  Expenditure  Finance  Committee  (EFC)  has  recommended the launching of NMNF. A Cabinet Note to roll out NMNF is under process.

## 7.       Per Drop More Crop (PDMC)

Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme launched during 2015-16 aims to increase water use efficiency at the farm level through Micro Irrigation technologies namely Drip and Sprinkler Irrigation systems to benefit the farmers in the country.

During  the  year  2015-16  to  2021-22,  the  PDMC  was  implemented  as a component  of Pradhan  Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). From the year 2022-23, the PDMC is being implemented under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). Micro Irrigation helps  in  water  saving  as  well  as  reducing  fertilizer  usage  through  fertigation,  labour expenses, other input costs and in overall income enhancement of the farmers.

Under the Scheme, financial assistance of 55% to Small & Marginal farmers and 45% to Other farmers is provided for installation of Micro Irrigation systems. From the year 201516 to 2022-23, an area of 78.4  lakh  ha  has  been  covered  under  Micro  Irrigation in the Country through the scheme which is about 81% higher as compared to the Pre-PDMC eight years period. This is a significant achievement.  Total of 89.87 lakh ha. area covered till march 2024.

An evaluation study of PDMC Scheme was taken up by the NITI Aayog during 2020-21, which  reveals  that  the  scheme  is  relevant  in  achieving  national  priorities  such  as substantially  improving  on-farm  water  use  efficiency,  enhancing  crop  productivity, generating employment opportunities etc.; Income of farmers has increased in the range of 10% to 69%; Water use efficiency has improved in the range of 30% to 70% and created direct & indirect employment opportunities.

8.    Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF): A Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) of initial corpus Rs 5000 crore  has  been  created  with  NABARD  with major  objective  to  facilitate  the  States  in mobilizing  the  resources  for  expanding  coverage  of  Micro  Irrigation.  Under  the  funding arrangement,  NABARD  lends  to  the  States/UTs  at  3%  lower  interest  rate  than  the corresponding cost of fund mobilized by NABARD from the market. The interest subvention on the loan under MIF is borne by Centre under PDMC.  Projects with loans under MIF worth Rs 4724.74 crore have been approved so far. Loans amounting Rs. 3387.80 crore has been disbursed to States. The Ministry provides interest subvention on the loan availed by the States which is met from PDMC Scheme. As per the Budget Announcement of the year 2021-22, the corpus of the fund is to be doubled to Rs.10000 crores.

## 9.  Promotion of FPOs

- i.  A  new  Central  Sector  Scheme  for  Formation  &  Promotion of new  10,000  FPOs  i. launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister on 29th February, 2020 with budget outlay of Rs i. 6,865 Crore till 2027-28.
- ii.  As  on 30th June  2024, 8,872 no. of FPOs  have  been  registered  under  new  FPO scheme.  ii.  Equity  Grant of Rs. 209.9  Crore has  been  released  to 4,135  FPOs . Credit Guarantee ii. Cover worth Rs. 349.28 Cr . issued to 1,542 FPOs.
10. The National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) was launched in 2020 as a part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, with an outlay of Rs.500.00 crores for three years i.e., 202021 to 2022-23. The scheme has been extended for further three years, i.e., 2023-24 to 2025-26, with the remaining budget of Rs.370.00 crores from the allocated budget of Rs.500.00 crores for the overall promotion and development of scientific beekeeping and to achieve the goal of "Sweet Revolution".
11. Agricultural Mechanization  : Agricultural mechanization is extremely vital to modernize agriculture  and  reduce  drudgery  of  farming  operations.  During  the  period  from  2014-15  to March, 2024 an amount of Rs.7265.00 crore have been allocated for agricultural mechanization. 18,16,221 numbers of machines and equipments have been provided to farmers on subsidy.   25,527 custom hiring centers, 594 high-tech hubs and 23,538 farm machinery banks have been established to make available agricultural machines and equipments to the farmers on rental basis. During 2024-25, Rs.69.99   Crore have been released to States.
12. Namo Drone Didi: The Government has also recently approved Central Sector Scheme for  providing  drones  to  the  Women  Self  Help  Groups  (SHGs)  with  an  outlay  of  Rs.  1261 Crores. The scheme aims to provide drones to 15000 selected Women SHGs for providing rental services to farmers for agriculture purpose (application of fertilizers and pesticides). Of the total 15,000 drones, first 500 drones will be procured by Lead Fertilizer Companies (LFCs) in 2023-24, using their internal resources for distribution to selected SHGs. Remaining  14500 drones will be provided under this scheme and Central Financial Assistance @ 80% of the cost of drone and accessories/ancillary charges up to a maximum of Rs. 8.0 lakhs will be provided to the women SHGs  for purchase of drones. The Cluster Level Federations (CLFs) of SHGs may raise the balance amount (total cost of procurement minus subsidy) as loan under National Agriculture Infra Financing Facility (AIF).  Interest subvention @ 3% on the AIF loan will be provided to the CLFs. The scheme will help in infusing advance technology in agriculture for improved  efficiency,  enhanced  crop  yield  and  reduced  cost  of  operation  for  the  benefit  of farmers. The scheme will also provide sustainable business and livelihood support to SHGs and they would be able to earn additional income of at least Rs. 1.0 lakh per annum.
13. Providing Soil Health Cards to farmers  : Soil Health Card Scheme was introduced in the year 2014-15 to optimize usage of nutrients. The following number of cards have been issued to farmers.
7.  Cycle-I (2015 to 2017) - 10.74 crore
8.  Cycle-II (2017 to 2019)- 12.19 crore
9.  Model Village Programme (2019-20)- 23.71 lakh
10.  In the year 2020-21- 14.57 lakh
11.  In the year 2021-22 - No fund for Soil Samples were allocated to States/UTs.
12.  In the year 2022-23 - 36.73 lakh
13.  In the year 2023-24 - 36.76 lakh
14.  In the year 2024-25 - 1.99 lakh

Regulations for promotion of biostimulants is issued. Nano urea is included under fertilizer control order.

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

- The Department has integrated 1389 mandis with e-NAM across 23 States &4 UTs.
-     As on 30th June 2024, 1.77 crore Farmers & 2.59 Lakh traders have been registered on  e·  -NAM  portal.  Total  volume  of  9.94  Crore  MT  &  36.39  Crore  numbers (bamboo,  betel  ·  leaves,  coconut,  lemon  &  sweet  corn)  collectively  worth approximately Rs. 3.59 lakh · crore of trade has been recorded on e-NAM platform.
15. Launch of the National Mission for Edible Oils - Oil Palm: A new Centrally Sponsored Scheme namely, National Mission on Edible Oil (NMEO)-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) has been launched during August,2021 with the aim to enhance the edible oils availability in the country by harnessing Oil Palm area expansion, increasing CPO production and to reduce the import burden on edible oil. The Mission will bring additional area of 6.5 lakh ha under Oil Palm plantation with 3.28 lakh ha in North-Eastern States and 3.22 in Rest of India with a total outlay of Rs. 11,040 crore in next 5 years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
16. Agri Infrastructure  Fund  : A one Lakh Crore,  Agriculture  Infrastructure  Fund  (AIF) scheme was launched with an objective to mobilize a medium - long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming  assets  through  incentives  and  financial  support  in  order  to  improve  agriculture infrastructure in the country. Following supports are being provided under Agri Infra Fund.
17. 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 agrihorti commodities. First Kisan Rail was started in July 2020. Till 28th February, 2023, 2359 services on 167 routes have been operated.
18. Mission  for  Integrated  Development  of  Horticulture  (MIDH) :  Details  of  physical progress under the major components of NHM/HMNEH scheme of MIDH from 2014-15 to 2023-24 is as under:
-  Area Expansion: - An additional area of 13.79 lakh ha. of identified horticulture crops has  been covered.
-  Nurseries:  -  905  nurseries  have  been  established  for  production  of  quality  planting material.
-  Rejuvenation: - An area of 1.48  lakh ha. of old and senile orchards has been rejuvenated.
-  Organic Farming: - An area of 52259 ha. been covered under organic practices.
-  Protected  Cultivation:  -  An  area  of  3.04  lakh  ha.  has  been  covered  under  Protected  Cultivation.
-  Water Resources: - 54630  water-harvesting structures have been created.
-  Beekeeping: - 16.30 lakh bee colonies with hives have been distributed.
-  Horticulture Mechanization: -2.73 lakh horticulture mechanization equipment have been  distributed.
-  Post-Harvest  Management  Infrastructures:  -  1.27  lakh  post-harvest  units  have  been  established.
-  Market Infrastructures: - 15923 market infrastructures have been set up.
-  Training of Farmers: - Under HRD, 9.73 lakh farmers have been trained under various
-  horticulture activities.
19. Creation of a Start-up Eco system in agriculture and allied sector: So far, 1708 Startups working in agriculture & allied sector have been selected during FY 2019-20 to 2023-24 by different  Knowledge Partners (KPs) and Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs).   Rs. 122.50 crore as grants-in-aid has been released in installments to the respective KPs & R-ABIs for funding  to  these  selected  start-ups  under  RKVY  Agri-startup  Programme  of  Department  of Agriculture & FW.
20. Achievement in Export of Agri and Allied Agri- Commodities: The country has witnessed emphatic growth in export of agri and allied commodities.  The major commodities which posted significant growth as compared to previous year have been Rice Basmati 21.92% (4787.65 to 5837.13 Million USD), buffalo Meat 17.11% (3193.69 to 3740.16 Million USD), Spices12.17% (3785.36 to 4245.99 Million USD), cotton raw incld. Waste 55.13% (781.43 to 1115.49 Million USD),  Fresh  Fruits  32.46%  (864.62 to 1145.24 Million  USD), misc  processed  items 37.88% (1421.64 to 1652.22 Million USD) etc.

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