Report on Farmers’ Income
20 December 2023, New Delhi: Government had constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee in April, 2016 to examine issues relating to “Doubling of Farmers Income (DFI)” and recommend strategies to achieve the same. The Committee submitted its final report to the Government in September, 2018 containing the recommendations for doubling of farmers’ income through various policies, reforms & programmes. To achieve the objective, the Committee identified following seven sources of income growth: –
- Increase in crop productivity
- Increase in livestock productivity
- Resource use efficiency – reduction in cost of production
- Increase in cropping intensity
- Diversification to high value agriculture
- Remunerative prices on farmers’ produce
- Shift of surplus manpower from farm to non-farm occupations
In the Fiscal year 2013-14, when the Ministry of Cooperation, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and Department of Fisheries were integral parts of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the total budget allocation was a mere Rs. 30,223.88 crore. Despite the subsequent separation of these ministries/ departments, the total budget allocation for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has witnessed a substantial increase, reaching Rs.1,25,035.79 crore (Rs. 1,15,531.79 crore for DA&FW and Rs. 9,504 crore for DARE) in the financial year 2023-24.
Government has adopted and implemented several policies, reforms, developmental programmes and schemes for achieving higher incomes for the farmers directly or indirectly. The unprecedented enhanced budgetary provisions have been made to facilitate the following efforts of the Government:
- Income support to farmers through PM KISAN
- Pradhan Mantri Fasal BimaYojana (PMFBY)
- Institutional credit for agriculture sector
- Fixing of Minimum Support Price (MSP) at one-and-a half times the cost of production
- Promotion of organic farming in the country
- Per Drop More Crop
- Micro Irrigation Fund
- Promotion of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)
- National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM)
- Agricultural Mechanization
- Providing Soil Health Cards to farmers
- Setting up of National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) extension Platform
- Launch of the National Mission for Edible Oils – Oil Palm
- Agri Infrastructure Fund (AIF)
- Improvement in farm produce logistics, Introduction of Kisan Rail.
- Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) – Cluster Development Programme:
- Creation of a Start-up Eco system in agriculture and allied sector
- Achievement in Export of Agri and Allied Agri- Commodities
Implementation of these schemes has yielded remarkable results towards augmenting the income of the farmers. As part of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has released a book, which contains compilation of success stories of 75,000 farmers out of innumerable successful farmers who have increased their income more than two times. There is no proposal under consideration in the Ministry for waiver of farm loans.
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