The government aims to raise the income of farmers to help them instead of waiving their loans, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh has said.
“Increasing the minimum support price for crops or doing loan waiver is not what we are planning to do, but yes we are looking at other measures which will increase and even double farmer’s incomes,” Singh told journalists in Delhi on Thursday.
He said the expected 4.1% agricultural growth in 2016-17 was only possible due to farmers’ hard work, good weather, and the Centre’s policies being implemented by state governments.
“We are moving in the direction of growth and by March we can talk about what increase we expect in 2017-18,” he said.
The minister said government policies since the past two years — from soil health card that will give information on balanced usage of fertilisers to increasing allocation under various schemes like irrigation, crop insurance schemes and dairy development — would significantly reduce farmers’ risks.
Expansion and increased allocation of funds to National Agricultural Market (e-NAM) and proposed changes in policy on contract farming would ensure good remunerative prices to farmer on their produce, he said. “I feel that the policy on contract farming will change the entire system as companies will come to farmer’s doorstep to procure,” Singh said. “We have made the draft and sent it to all state governments for their opinion and soon will make it an Act.”
In October the government think tank NITI Aayog had spoken about a separate Contract Farming Act on the lines of Punjab and a fresh draft of the model APMC Act to bring in reforms it has proposed.
Singh said allocation of funds in irrigation and micro irrigation would increase irrigated area and production. “Focus on micro irrigation with use of drip irrigation & micro sprinklers has led to a substantial increase in area- 13 million hectare,” he said. According to the agriculture ministry, area covered under micro irrigation has almost tripled in three years, from 4.3 lakh hectare in 2013-14 to 12.74 lakh hectare in 2016-17.
“Increasing the minimum support price for crops or doing loan waiver is not what we are planning to do, but yes we are looking at other measures which will increase and even double farmer’s incomes,” Singh told journalists in Delhi on Thursday.
He said the expected 4.1% agricultural growth in 2016-17 was only possible due to farmers’ hard work, good weather, and the Centre’s policies being implemented by state governments.
“We are moving in the direction of growth and by March we can talk about what increase we expect in 2017-18,” he said.
The minister said government policies since the past two years — from soil health card that will give information on balanced usage of fertilisers to increasing allocation under various schemes like irrigation, crop insurance schemes and dairy development — would significantly reduce farmers’ risks.
Expansion and increased allocation of funds to National Agricultural Market (e-NAM) and proposed changes in policy on contract farming would ensure good remunerative prices to farmer on their produce, he said. “I feel that the policy on contract farming will change the entire system as companies will come to farmer’s doorstep to procure,” Singh said. “We have made the draft and sent it to all state governments for their opinion and soon will make it an Act.”
In October the government think tank NITI Aayog had spoken about a separate Contract Farming Act on the lines of Punjab and a fresh draft of the model APMC Act to bring in reforms it has proposed.
Singh said allocation of funds in irrigation and micro irrigation would increase irrigated area and production. “Focus on micro irrigation with use of drip irrigation & micro sprinklers has led to a substantial increase in area- 13 million hectare,” he said. According to the agriculture ministry, area covered under micro irrigation has almost tripled in three years, from 4.3 lakh hectare in 2013-14 to 12.74 lakh hectare in 2016-17.