Lok Sabha Question No. 51 (STARRED), answered on 2024-02-06
Subject: Special Farm Sector Indices
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Rahul Ramesh Shewale

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 51

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06 TH  FEBRUARY, 2024

## SPECIAL FARM SECTOR INDICES

- *51. SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU: SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE:

Will the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare क ृ िष एवं िकसान क̵  याण मंũी be pleased to state;

- (a)  whether over 70% of rural households rely on agriculture for their livelihood in the country;
- (b)  if  so,  whether the Union Government is contemplating to focus on special farm sector indices to lift agriculture productivity and income, if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether the Union Government has adopted multi-pronged strategy to develop indices across  agriculture  and  rural  landscape  to  track  progress  of  the  existing  schemes particularly in Odisha;
- (d)  if so, the details thereof;
- (e)  whether the Government has undertaken evaluation of flagship programs to introduce changes, wherever needed particularly in Odisha; and
- (f) if so, the details of results therein?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान क̵  याण मंũी (SHRI ARJUN MUNDA)

- (a) to (f):   A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  to  (f)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION NO. 51 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 06 TH  FEBRUARY, 2024 REGARDING 'SPECIAL FARM SECTOR INDICES'.

(a) & (b) : As per the Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India, 2019, out of total rural household 54% are agricultural household.

The Government monitors the agriculture sector in country through several metrics such as Gross Value Added and Gross Capital formation in agriculture, productivity of various crops, area  sown,  cropping  intensity,  area  under  irrigation,  insurance  penetration,  credit  flow  to agriculture sector, the degree of mechanization and technology in farming practices, etc.

Agriculture being a State subject, the State Government take appropriate measures for development of agriculture and welfare of farmers in the States. However, Government of India supplements the efforts of States and welfare of farmers through appropriate policy measures and  budgetary  support  and  various  schemes/  programmes.  In  the  BE  during  2013-14  the budget allocation of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare was Rs. 27,662.67 crore. This has increased by more than 5 times to Rs. 1,25,035.79 crores BE during 2023-24.

The Government of India is implementing various schemes/ programmes for the welfare of farmers by increasing production, remunerative returns and income support to farmers, which include:

-  National Food Security Mission (NFSM) aims to increase the production of rice, wheat and pulses through area expansion and productivity enhancement; restoring soil fertility and productivity; and enhancing farm level economy.
-  Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) is a scheme with broad objectives of making farming a remunerative economic activity through strengthening the farmer's effort, risk mitigation with major focus is on pre & post-harvest infrastructure. This scheme includes sub-components such as Per Drop More Crop, Sub-Mission on Agriculture Mechanization, Soil Health and Fertility, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna, Rainfed Area Development and Crop Diversification Programme.
-  National  Mission  on  Edible  Oil-Oil  Palm  (NMEO-OP) has  been  launched  by Government of India to promote oil palm cultivation for making the country Aatamnirbhar in edible oils with special focus on North-Eastern States and A&N Islands. The Mission aims to 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 in next 5 years from 2021-22 to 202526.
-  Minimum  Support  Prices  and  procurement  from  farmers: Government  fixes Minimum  Support  Prices  (MSPs)  for  22  mandated  agricultural  crops  and  Fair  & Remunerative  Price  (FRP)  for  sugarcane.  Government  had  increased  MSPs  for  all

mandated Kharif, Rabi and other Commercial crops with a minimum return of 50 percent over all India weighted average cost of production from year 2018-19 onwards.

-  Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN): The Scheme 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 installments of Rs.2000/- directly into the bank accounts of the farmers. Under the Scheme, the benefits of the scheme worth ₹ 2.81 Lakh Crore had been provided to more than 11 crore farmers. A total of 42,02,650 beneficiaries have been benefitted under this Scheme in Odisha.
-  Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): Scheme was launched in 2016 in order to provide a simple and affordable crop insurance product to ensure comprehensive risk cover for crops to farmers against all non-preventable natural risks from pre-sowing to post-harvest and to  provide  adequate claim amount. During the year 2022-23 under PMFBY, 1174.7 lakh farmers applications were enrolled and the funds allocated stood at Rs. 15500 crores. A total of 498.50 lakh Farmer Applications were insured in the State of Odisha since the Scheme's inception.
-  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  MaanDhan  Yojana  (PM-KMY): Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojna (PMKMY) is a central sector scheme launched on 12th September 2019 to provide security to the most vulnerable farmer families. PM-KMY is contributory scheme, small and marginal farmers (SMFs), subject to exclusion criteria, can opt to become member of the scheme by paying monthly subscription to the Pension Fund. Similar, amount will be contributed by the Central Government. As of now total number of farmers enrolled under the scheme is 23.38 Lakhs.
-  Institutional credit for agriculture sector has  increased from Rs. 7.3 lakh crore in 2013-14 with a target to reach Rs. 20 lakh crore in 2023-24. 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 their short-term working capital needs.  A  special drive  has  been  undertaken  since  February  2020  to  provide concessional  institutional  credit  with  focus  on  covering  all  PM-KISAN  beneficiaries through  Kisan  Credit  Cards  (KCC).  As  on  05.01.2024,  465.42  lakh  new  KCC applications have been sanctioned with a sanctioned credit limit of Rs. 5,69,974 crore as part of the drive.
-  Agricultural  mechanization is  extremely  vital  to  modernize  agriculture  and  reduce drudgery of farming operations. During the period from 2014-15 to December, 2023 an amount  of  Rs.6405.55  crore  have  been  allocated  for  agricultural  mechanization. 15,23,650 numbers of machines and equipments have been provided to farmers on subsidy.
-  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.

-  Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) : The Government of India has launched the Central Sector Scheme (CSS) for 'Formation and Promotion  of  10,000  Farmer  Producer  Organizations  (FPOs)'  in  the  year  2020. Formation & promotion of FPOs are to be done through Implementing Agencies (IAs), which further engage Cluster Based Business Organizations (CBBOs) to form & provide professional handholding support to FPOs for a period of 05 years including preparation and execution of business plan for the concerned FPOs for ensuring better marketing opportunities & market linkages on sustainable basis. As on 31.12.2023, 7,774 no. of FPOs have been registered under new FPO scheme. Equity Grant of Rs. 129.5 Crore has been released to 2,933 FPOs. Credit Guarantee Cover worth Rs. 226.7 Cr. issued to 994 FPOs.
-  Namo Drone Didi: The Government has recently approved Central Sector Scheme for providing drones to the Women Self Help Group (SHGs) for the period from 2024-25 to 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs. 1261 Crores. The scheme aims to provide drones to 14500 selected Women Self Help Group (SHGs) for providing rental services to farmers for agriculture purpose (application of fertilizers and pesticides).
-  Agricultural  Technology  Management  Agency  (ATMA) promotes  decentralized farmer-friendly extension system in the country. The objectives of ATMA Scheme is to support State Government's efforts and to make available latest agricultural technologies and good agricultural practices in different thematic areas of agriculture and allied areas to farmers through different extension activities viz; Farmers Training, Demonstrations,  Exposure  Visits,  Kisan  Mela,  Mobilization  of  Farmers  Groups  and organizing Farm Schools etc.  Since 2014 to 2023 (31st December, 2023), an amount of  Rs.5189.08  crore  (Central  Share)  has  been  released  to  the  States/UTs  including MANAGE to carry out extension activities and 3,66,10,873 farmers have been benefited through different extension under the Scheme.

Due to the successful implementation of the various programmes and schemes, the country achieved record foodgrain production of 3296.87 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) during 2022-23 registering an increase of 30.82% as compared to 2520.25 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) in 201415. Further, the details of productivity of major agricultural crops is at Annexure.

(c) to (f): The review of various schemes is a continuous process. The major schemes are regularly monitored and evaluated from time to time through independent agencies/ institutes and revamped on the basis of the feedback. An evaluation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes in Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries sectors was done by Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog in 2020. The report found the Centrally Sponsored Schemes implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare highly relevant for the development of agriculture sector as well as welfare of farmers of the nation and therefore, recommended for its continuation.

Further, NITI Aayog monitors the progress of various schemes in the implementation of OutputOutcome  Management  Framework  (OOMF)  of  the  Government  of  India.  The  Framework endeavors  to  provide  measurable  indicators  for  achievement  of  scheme  objectives,  or  the 'Outcomes', actively tracking progress against defined targets. In addition, mechanism such as Quarterly Progress Report (QPR), Field Inspection and Periodic Reviews are undertaken to track the progress and review the performance of various schemes.

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) and (b) of Lok Sabha Starred Q No. 51 Due for reply on 06.02.2024

## Productivity of major agricultural crops

|                    | Productivity (Kg./ha.)   | Productivity (Kg./ha.)   | Productivity (Kg./ha.)   |
|--------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|
| Crop               | 2014-15                  | 2022-23                  | Percentage Change (%)    |
| Rice               | 2391                     | 2838                     | 18.70                    |
| Wheat              | 2750                     | 3521                     | 28.04                    |
| Maize              | 2632                     | 3545                     | 34.69                    |
| Tur                | 729                      | 814                      | 11.66                    |
| Gram               | 889                      | 1172                     | 31.83                    |
| Urad               | 604                      | 657                      | 8.77                     |
| Moong              | 501                      | 663                      | 32.34                    |
| Lentil             | 705                      | 952                      | 35.04                    |
| Groundnut          | 1552                     | 2075                     | 33.70                    |
| Soybean            | 951                      | 1145                     | 20.40                    |
| Rapeseed & Mustard | 1083                     | 1428                     | 31.86                    |
| Sugarcane          | 71511                    | 83349                    | 16.55                    |

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