India to spend USD 5 BN in agriculture sector till 2020

2 May 2018: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for the Umbrella Scheme, "Green Revolution – Krishonnati Yojana" in agriculture sector beyond 12th Five Year Plan for the period from 2017-18 to 2019-20 with the Central Share of INR 33,269.976 crore (USD 5 billion).   

The Umbrella scheme comprises of 11 Schemes/Missions. These schemes look to develop the agriculture and allied sector in a holistic and scientific manner to increase the income of farmers by enhancing production, productivity andbetter returns on produce. The Schemes will be continued with an expenditure of INR 33,269.976 crore for three financial years, i.e., 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. 

3.       The Schemes that are part of the Umbrella Schemes are :-

(i)      Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) with a total central share of INR 7533.04 crore, MIDH aims to promote holistic growth of horticulture sector; to enhance horticulture production, improve nutritional security and income support tofarm Households.

(ii)      National Food Security Mission (NFSM), including National Mission on Oil Seeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP), with a total central share of INR 6893.38 crore.  It aims to increase production of rice, wheat, pulses, coarse cereals and commercial crops, through area expansion and productivity enhancement in a suitable manner in the identified districts of the country, restoring soil fertility and productivity at the individual farm level and enhancing farm level economy.  It further aims to augment the availability of vegetable oils and to reduce the import of edible oils.

(iii)     National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) with a total central share of INR 3980.82 crore.  NMSA aims at promoting sustainable agriculture practices best suitable to the specific agro-ecology focusing on integrated farming, appropriate soil health management and synergizing resource conservation technology.

(iv)     Submission on Agriculture Extension (SMAE) with a total central share of INR 2961.26 crore.  SMAE aims to strengthen the ongoing extension mechanism of State Governments, local bodies etc., achieving food and nutritional security and socio-economic empowerment of farmers, to institutionalize programme planning and implementation mechanism, to forge effective linkages and synergy amongst various stake-holders, to support HRD interventions, to promote pervasive and innovative use of electronic / print media, inter-personal communication and ICT tools, etc.

(v)     Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Material (SMSP) with a total central share of INR 920.6 crore.  SMSP aims to increase production of certified / quality seed, to increase SRR, to upgrade the quality of farm saved seeds, to strengthen the seed multiplication chain, to promote new technologies and methodologies in seed production, processing, testing etc., to strengthen and modernizing infrastructure for seed production, storage, certification and quality etc.

(vi)     Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) with a total central share of INR 3250 crore.  SMAM aims to increase the reach of farm mechanization to small and marginal farmers and to the regions where availability of farm power is low, to promote ‘Custom Hiring Centres’ to offset the adverse economies of scale arising due to small landholding and high cost of individual ownership, to create hubs for hi-tech and high value farm equipment, to create awareness among stakeholders through demonstration and capacity building activities, and to ensure performance testing and certification at designated testing centers located all over the country.

(vii)    Sub Mission on Plant Protection and Plan Quarantine (SMPPQ) with a total central share of INR 1022.67 crore.  SMPPQ aims to minimize loss to quality and yield of agricultural crops from the ravages of insect pests, diseases, weeds, nematodes, rodents, etc. and to shield our agricultural bio-security from the incursions and spread of alien species, to facilitate exports of Indian agricultural commodities  to global markets, and to promote good agricultural practices, particularly with respect to plant protection strategies and strategies.

(viii)   Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Census, Economics and Statistics (ISACES) with a total central share of INR 730.58 crore. It aims to undertake the agriculture census, study of the cost of cultivation of principal crops, to undertake research studies on agro-economic problems of the country, to fund conferences/workshops and seminars involving eminent economists, agricultural scientists, experts and to bring out papers to conduct short term studies, to improve agricultural statistics methodology and to create a hierarchical information system on crop condition and crop production from sowing to harvest.

(ix)     Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Cooperation (ISAC) with a total central share of INR 1902.636 crore. It aims to provide financial assistance for improving the economic conditions of cooperatives, remove regional imbalances and to speed up -      cooperative development in agricultural marketing, processing, storage, computerization and weaker section programmes; to help cotton growers fetch remunerative price for their produce through value addition besides ensuring supply of quality yarn at reasonable rates to the decentralized weavers.

(x)     Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Marketing (ISAM) with a total central share of INR 3863.93 crore. ISAM aims to develop agricultural marketing infrastructure; to promote innovative and latest technologies and competitive alternatives in agriculture marketing infrastructure; to provide infrastructure facilities for grading, standardization and quality certification of agricultural produce; to establish a nation­wide marketing information network; to integrate markets through a common online market platform to facilitate pan-India trade in agricultural commodities, etc.

(xi)     National e-Governance Plan (NeGP-A) with a total central share of INR 211.06 crore aims to bring farmer centricity & service orientation to the programmes; to enhance reach & impact of extension services; to improve access of farmers to information &services throughout crop-cycle; to build upon, enhance & integrate the existing ICT initiatives of Centre and States; and to enhance efficiency & effectiveness of programs through making available timely and relevant information to the farmers for increasing their agriculture productivity.

The Schemes/Missions focus on creating/strengthening of infrastructure of production, reducing production cost and marketing of agriculture and allied produce. These schemes / missions have been under implementation for varying duration during past few years.

All these schemes/missions were appraised and approved independently as separate scheme/mission. In 2017-18, it has been decided to club all these schemes / missions under one umbrella scheme 'Green Revolution - Krishonnati Yojana'.

Image Credit: modernfarmer.com