Last year PM Narendra Modi had announced that the income of farmers will be doubled by 2022. There is no doubt that it is an ambitious purpose and requires a multi-dimensional strategy by the government. In this article, we will focus on various aspects taken by the Modi government to improve agricultural productivity and enhance agricultural development in the country.
In this article, we will analyze the progress of Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme, Prime Minister Agriculture Irrigation Scheme, Soil Health Card Scheme and National Agriculture Market. NDA has adverse effects on farm income and rural economy due to continuous drought over the first two years of the government. As Indian agriculture is highly dependent on monsoon, there are serious consequences for farmers due to these ‘natural chanting’.
Pradhan Mantri Crop Insurance Scheme (PMFBY) was introduced to reduce the risk of farmers and provide income protection to them.
The progress year 2016-17 crop in the Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme was the first year of PMFBY (Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme) which started before Kharif 2016. One of the key barometers to assess the efficacy of the program is an increase in crop insurance coverage. We find that after the introduction of PMFBY, the total crop area insurance has increased from 23% to 30%. This is a remarkable increase in a period of one year and can be attributed primarily to the introduction of PMFBY. In addition, the government intends to increase coverage at a rate of 10 per cent marks every year for the next two years and achieve 50% coverage by 2019.
The government has supported its intentions with adequately increasing the financial allocation for PMFBY. Over Rs 5500 crore, 35.5 million farmers were insured under 13000 crore PMFBY, which was just 12.1 million in Kharif 2013, and under National Agricultural Insurance Scheme, Kharif was 25.4 million in 2011 and revised NAIS combined. Also, the sum assured increased by more than Rs 60,773 crore in Kharif 2015 and has now grown to Rs 1,08,055 crore under PMFBY.
Prime Minister Agra Sachai Yojana is one of the deep problems of Indian agriculture on monsoon and natural rainfall. It is estimated that more than half of the country is agricultural land precipitation and requires convincing irrigation. In 2015, the government revived the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Program (AIBP) and the Prime Minister Agriculture Sincha Yojana (PMKSY) launched a major programme. Through this scheme, the Government aims to repeat the success of the rural army scheme for reassured irrigation across the country.
How did PMKSY progress? 99 primary irrigation projects have been identified under this scheme. 21 of these projects are likely to be completed by June 2017. A goal of this programme is to use micro irrigation throughout the country. The use of drip irrigation and quenching in farms increases water efficiency and reduces water demand. We find that the coverage of micro irrigation has increased substantially after the launch of PMSKY. Between 2005-06 and 2016-17, 60.83 hectares of agricultural land was brought under micro irrigation. While 42.58 hectares were added annually in 4.73 hectares in the first 9 years, the annual average of more than 6 hectares was increased in 18.25 hectares over the last three years. 99 primary irrigation projects have been identified under this scheme. 21 of these projects are likely to be completed by June 2017. A goal of this programme is to use micro irrigation throughout the country.
The use of drip irrigation and quenching in farms increases water efficiency and reduces water demand. We find that the coverage of micro irrigation has increased substantially after the launch of PMSKY. Between 2005-06 and 2016-17, 60.83 hectares of agricultural land was brought under micro irrigation. While 42.58 hectares were added annually in 4.73 hectares in the first 9 years, the annual average of more than 6 hectares was increased in 18.25 hectares over the last three years. Soil health card scheme is a necessary requirement of improving land productivity, with the ground becoming a rare resource. The Government needs to take steps to provide adequate information to farmers about appropriate agricultural techniques and increase their land productivity. The Government is providing farmers with Soil Health Card Scheme to inform them about their farm conditions. Based on this information, farmers are expected to use crop and fertilizer etc.
As of March 2012, more than 5 crore farmers had planted soil health cards across the country after independent initiatives by the selfless state governments in the country. In 2015, the Modi government had set a goal to provide 14 crore soil health cards in three years. The government will not only issue a card to farmers; but also make sure that the revaluation of the country and the card is expected to be issued every three years. Unlike earlier recommendations, farmers are now given crop-wise fertilizer recommendations. Soil samples have been tested in the last two years, the government has continuously progressed on testing of soil samples. 2.3 crore samples have been tested against the target of testing 2.53 crore soil samples. But, the progress of printing and card is a little slower. So far, 7.11 crore cards have been released so far, about half of the target with only one year. The target of efforts made by the Government to ensure the goal should be completed at the prescribed time.
The National Agricultural Markets are currently struggling with the lack of farmer technical intervention in India and therefore are highly dependent on the information provided to them through local APMC. This is ultimately leading to issues such as unethical real-time price search, poor information buyers and vendors quality, lack of information in place of availability of particular item. Launched in April 2016, NAM’s idea was out of need to provide a nationwide market to farmers. The main objective of NAM is to connect with former existing APMC pavilions and ensure nationwide wide reach.
नीम कोटेड यूरिया का प्रयोग कृषि क्षेत्र में दक्षता बढ़ाने के लिए सरकार द्वारा एक और छोटी लेकिन महत्वपूर्ण कदम नीम-लेपित यूरिया का उपयोग है। धीरे-धीरे, सरकार ने यूरिया उत्पादकों के लिए 100 प्रतिशत नीम कोटिंग अनिवार्य कर दिया है। नीम कोटिंग पोषक तत्व दक्षता बढ़ जाती है। यह गैर कृषि उद्देश्यों के लिए यूरिया का स्थानांतरण भी कम करता है। निष्कर्ष मोदी सरकार ने किसानों की आमदनी बढ़ाने और उनके लिए जोखिम कवर प्रदान करने के लिए कई प्रयास किए हैं। लक्षित कार्यक्रमों को नष्ट करने में इन कार्यक्रमों की सफलता उनके कार्यान्वयन पर निर्भर करती है, न केवल नामांकन। उदाहरण के लिए, एक फसल बीमा योजना को केवल सफल माना जा सकता है अगर दावा निपटान का समय कम हो जाता है और लाभार्थी के लिए यह प्रक्रिया चिकनी हो जाती है मिट्टी के स्वास्थ्य कार्ड जारी करने के अलावा, सरकार को निरीक्षण के लिए अनुवर्ती सर्वेक्षण या मूल्यांकन का पालन करना चाहिए कि क्या उपलब्ध कराई गई जानकारी ने कृषि तकनीकों में किसी भी बदलाव का नेतृत्व किया है या नहीं। इसके अलावा सरकार को किसानों की आमदनी भी बाजार में अस्थिर कीमत में परिवर्तन से सुरक्षित रखने पर ध्यान केंद्रित करना चाहिए।
