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Informist, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025

 

MUMBAI – Growth of the agricultural and allied sectors is likely to be 3.5-4% this year, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, according to a release by the ministry. Chouhan held a virtual review meeting of various schemes of the ministry with the agriculture ministers of the states and Union territories in New Delhi on Saturday. Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi and other senior officials also attended the meeting.

 

Growth in the agricultural sector this year will be through a six-point strategy, the release quoted Chouhan as saying. The strategies include encouraging ways to increase production, primarily by researching and releasing improved varieties of seeds, through a micro-irrigation scheme and mechanisation, use of technology, and new agricultural methods.

 

This is to be accompanied by methods of reducing the cost of production, for which schemes such as PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, PM Crop Insurance Scheme, subsidies on fertilisers, and loans at low interest on Kisan credit cards are in place, according to the release.

 

Supporting farmers through minimum support price, and procurement of wheat, oilseeds, pulses and copra under the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan, will also help improve the agricultural sector, the release quoted Chouhan as saying. Moreover, under the Agri Infra Fund, lending institutions will give loans of up to INR 1 trillion to farmers.

 

Other measures to improve the agricultural sector include a campaign that the Cabinet recently approved to promote natural farming, the release quoted Chouhan as saying.

 

Chouhan also said the crop insurance scheme would ill now be assessed through satellite or remote sensing. This would ensure an accurate assessment of crop loss and the amount would be transferred at the right time. In case the insurance company delays in giving the claim, it will have to pay 12% interest on the amount. Earlier, the loss was assessed manually through crop cutting.

 

Additionally, to bridge the price difference between the producer and consumer during the peak harvesting period, the government has decided to bear the cost of transportation and storage for the work done by the central nodal agencies, the release quoted Chouhan as saying.

 

To encourage production of oilseeds, states should come forward to implement the Price Deficit Payment Scheme as an alternative to oilseeds. For this, coverage has been increased from the existing 25% to 40% of the state production of oilseeds. The period has also been increased from three months to four months, the release quoted Chouhan as saying.  End

 

Reported by Shreya Shetty

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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