New Delhi: The agriculture and food security of the nation will continue to be sustainable in the coming years and we will be successful in doubling farmers’ income in the stipulated time frame. This was stated by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh at the National Kharif Conference 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi today.
Shri Singh asserted that the credit for ensuring the nation’s food security goes to the farmers. Today, India is not only self-dependent but also an exporter of many agricultural products. It is also true that farmers do not get fair value of their produce; therefore an all-round development of the agriculture sector is needed to ensure the stock of food and agriculture product; and enhance farmers’ income. The aim of the government is to make agriculture policy and programs ‘income-oriented’ rather than ‘production-oriented’. To achieve this ambitious objective, the government is encouraging the adoption of ‘multi-dimensional seven-point’ strategy suggested by Hon’ble Prime Minister, which includes-
- Emphasis on irrigation along with end to end solution on creation of resources for ‘More crop per drop’.
- Provision of quality seeds and nutrients according to the soil quality of each farm.
- Large investments in warehouses and cold chains to prevent Post-harvest losses.
- Promotion of value addition through food processing.
- Implementation of National Agricultural Markets and e-platforms (e-NAM) to eliminate shortcomings of all the 585 centers.
- To mitigate the risk, introduction of crop insurance scheme at a lower cost.
- Promotion of allied activities such as Dairy-Animal husbandry, Poultry, Bee-keeping, Har Medh Per Ped, Horticulture, and Fisheries.
Shri Singh said the need of the hour is full cooperation of State Governments so that all efforts of the Central Government reach and benefit farmers. The Minister appealed to officials from States to properly implement the schemes/missions in their state. Farmers must be encouraged to participate in large numbers in the ongoing Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, in which every block will organize Kisan Kalyan Karyashala on May 2, 2018 in which farmers from that block will participate. Agriculture officers and scientists will discuss ways to increase income through new technology and progressive farmers will also narrate their success stories.
The Minister informed that National Bamboo Mission has been announced in budget 2018-19 for the overall development of bamboo as a supplement of agricultural income. This would help increase the income of farmers. For the development of dairy and fisheries, programs like National Dairy Plan-1 (NDP-1), National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) and Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS) and Blue Revolution are being implemented and farmers are taking advantage of it.
The Minister further said that the main goal of the government is not only to identify potential areas of agriculture where more investment needs to be made but also to enhance income by diversification into horticulture and animal husbandry and fisheries and suggest ways to reduce risks. In order to achieve the goal of doubling farmers’ income, the Agriculture Ministry has been continuously working to reduce the cost of farming; increase production through better productivity; ensuring profitable returns and risk management given the uncertainty of weather.
To ensure better productivity, schemes such as National Food Security Mission, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm, Rashtriya Gokul Mission, National Livestock Mission, Blue Revolution etc. are being run. Similarly, to reduce the cost of farming, Soil Health Card, use of neem-coated urea and more crop per drop etc are being implemented successfully. For a profitable income source, e-NAM, cold storage, storage facility at concessional rate of interest, post-harvest credit facility, increase in base MSP etc are being emphasized. For adoption of risk management and sustainable practices, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and organic farming mission for north east are being implemented.
