Lok Sabha Question No. 4256 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-08-11
Subject: Jute Cultivation
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: BRIJBHUSHAN SHARAN SINGH

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4256 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2016

## JUTE CULTIVATION

## 4256.   SHRI BRIJBHUSHAN SHARAN SINGH:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंरी

be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the promotion of jute cultivation industries may contribute to the protection of environment in the country and if so, the steps being taken by the Government thereon;
- (b) the State-wise number of jute mills in the country;
- (c) whether  the  Commission  of  Agricultural  Costs  and  Prices  in  its  recent  report  has  suggested  to discontinue  the existing policy of using only jute bags  in sugar mills, if so, whether such suggestion is likely to affect the jute industries and if so, the details thereof  and the policy of the Government in this regard;
- (d) whether  jute  is  called  the  crop  of  rainy  season  and  whether  this  crop  is  damaged  badly  in  case  of shortfall of rain and if so, the arrangements made by the Government to tackle such situation;
- (e) whether  the  Government  provides  any  subsidy  for  the  cultivation  of  jute  as  it  is  a  cost  and  labourintensive crop and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the details of foreign exchange earned  by the country from the export of jute, country-wise?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंरी ( श्री अज )

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES

(SHRI AJAY TAMTA)

(a): Jute  is  a  bio-degradable  and  environment  friendly  fibre.  In  order  to  promote  Jute  cultivation,  the Government  has  launched  the  project Jute-ICARE  (Jute  Improved  Cultivation  and  Advanced  Retting Exercise) in  January,  2015  in  selected  Blocks  of  West  Bengal  and  Assam  to  improve  income  of  farmers through increase in yield and improvement in quality of fibres.

- (b): The state-wise number of jute mills in the country is as under:-
- (c): The  Commission  for  Agricultural  Costs  and  Prices  (CACP),  in  their  report  had  recommended  that compulsory packaging for jute sacking in foodgrains should be reduced to the level of 75% and sugar sector should be totally exempted from mandatory reservation. However, with a view to protect the interest of jute producers and their products, Government has issued a notification dated 14.1.2016 under the Jute Packaging Material (Compulsory Use in Packaging Commodities) Act, 1987 (JPM Act) which stipulates that a minimum of 20% of sugar has to be mandatorily packed in jute packaging material manufactured in India and raw jute produced in India. The validity of Notification has since been extended upto 30 th September, 2016.

| State          |   No. of jute mills |
|----------------|---------------------|
| West Bengal    |                  70 |
| Andhra Pradesh |                  13 |
| Bihar          |                   3 |
| Uttar Pradesh  |                   3 |
| Assam          |                   2 |
| Odisha         |                   3 |
| Chhattisgarh   |                   2 |
| Tripura        |                   1 |
| TOTAL          |                  97 |

(d) & (e): Jute is predominantly grown as a rain-fed crop. The Government takes various measures to safeguard the interests of  jute farmers in case of any eventualities by way of several interventions. Details of these interventions are given in Annexure-I .

(f) :    The details of foreign exchange earned by the country from the export of jute, country-wise is given in Annexure-II .

## DETAILS OF THE INTERVENTIONS BY GOVENRMENT TO SAFEGUARDS OF JUTE FARMERS IN CASE OF ANY EVENTUALITIES.

(i) Input  subsidies  are  given  to  farmers  who  suffer  crop  loss  due  to  natural  calamities from State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and Natural Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) in cases of crop loss of 33% or more, to the extent of Rs.6800/- per hectare in the rain-fed areas restricted  to  sown  area  and  Rs.13500/-  per  hectare  in  assured  irrigated  areas,  subject  to minimum assistance not less than Rs.1000/- and restricted to 2 hectares per farmer.

(ii) Central  Research  Institute  of  Dry  land  Agriculture  (CRIDA),  in  collaboration  with State Agricultural Universities has prepared contingency plans for the districts for implementing  location  specific  interventions to sustain agriculture production  in the eventuality  of any extreme climatic events.

(iii) Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojana  (PMKSY)  has  been  launched  with  the objective of extending the coverage of irrigation in a focussed manner.

(iv) In  order  to  protect  farmers  against  crop  failure  due  to  natural  calamities,  pests  & diseases,  weather  conditions,  Government  of  India  has  recently  introduced  the  Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

(v) Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare is implementing Jute Development Programme with a focus on cropping system approach under National Food Security Mission (NFSM) in 9 major jute growing states viz; Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh & West Bengal from 2014-15 with an aim for enhancing production and productivity.

(vi) Under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), States are also expected to support jute  development  programme  with  the  approval  of  State  Level  Sanctioning  Committee (SLS) under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary of the State.

Annexure-II

## DETAILS OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNED BY THE COUNTRY FROM THE EXPORT OF JUTE, COUNTRY -WISE

|         | 2015 - 2016    | 2015 - 2016         | 2015 - 2016             | 2015 - 2016                |
|---------|----------------|---------------------|-------------------------|----------------------------|
| Sl. No. | Country        | Value (Rs./Million) | Equiv. US$ (in Million) | %to total value of exports |
| 1)      | U S A          | 4243.52             | 64.82                   | 11                         |
| 2)      | U K            | 1783.29             | 27.24                   | 5                          |
| 3)      | GHANA          | 1603.29             | 24.49                   | 4                          |
| 4)      | GERMANY        | 874.28              | 13.35                   | 2                          |
| 5)      | NETHERLAND     | 868.07              | 13.26                   | 2                          |
| 6)      | COTE D' IVOIRE | 851.15              | 13.00                   | 2                          |
| 7)      | SAUDI ARAB     | 812.19              | 12.41                   | 2                          |
| 8)      | AUSTRALIA      | 782.42              | 11.95                   | 2                          |
| 9)      | U ARAB EMTS    | 488.84              | 7.47                    | 1                          |
| 10)     | TURKEY         | 402.67              | 6.15                    | 1                          |
| 11)     | CANADA         | 384.31              | 5.87                    | 1                          |
| 12)     | SPAIN          | 327.01              | 5.00                    | 1                          |
| 13)     | BELGIUM        | 326.41              | 4.99                    | 1                          |
| 14)     | ITALY          | 283.58              | 4.33                    | 1                          |
| 15)     | JAPAN          | 282.97              | 4.32                    | 1                          |
| 16)     | EGYPT A RP     | 281.16              | 4.29                    | 1                          |
| 17)     | NEW ZEALAND    | 272.01              | 4.15                    | 1                          |
| 18)     | INDONESIA      | 268.01              | 4.09                    | 1                          |
| 19)     | TANZANIA REP   | 244.34              | 3.73                    | 1                          |
| 20)     | IRAN           | 177.44              | 2.71                    | -                          |
| 21)     | OTHERS         | 21345.17            | 349.52                  | 58                         |
|         | Total Export   | 36902.13            | 563.68                  |                            |

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