Spotlight- Government’s Efforts & Initiatives for Farmer’s Welfare | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

The Need for Agrarian Reforms

• The current government has consistently underscored the vital role played by Indian farmers and has referred to them as a cornerstone of our economy. 
• Presently, agriculture contributes to roughly 15% of the national output, and nearly 50% of the population is directly or indirectly reliant on it for employment. 
• The real and immediate problem of farmer distress is evident from the ongoing protests across various parts of the country. 
• Historically, the government's agricultural strategy has been primarily geared towards enhancing agricultural output and bolstering food security, rather than addressing the need to improve farmers' incomes. 
• The impact of low global prices on exports and the adverse effects of cheaper imports on domestic prices are apparent. Natural calamities and crop losses have led to the impoverishment of rural households. 
• Additionally, increasing demographic pressures, disguised employment in agriculture, and the conversion of agricultural land for alternative uses have significantly diminished the average landholding.

Government Initiatives

• Per Drop More Crop: The government established a Micro Irrigation Fund under NABARD with a corpus of 2000 crores and 3000 crores for the years 2019 and 2020, respectively. Assistance to states is provided at concessional rates, and the goal is to bring 10 million hectares under micro-irrigation.
• Diversification towards high-value crops: Organizations like IFPRI and ICAR are promoting horticultural crops such as pomegranate and mushroom farming, providing farmers with adequate skills training.
• Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH): This initiative aims to enhance horticulture production, augment farmers' income, and strengthen nutritional security. It focuses on improving productivity through quality germplasm, planting material, and water use efficiency via micro-irrigation.
• Soil Health Cards: The Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme is designed to issue soil health cards to farmers every two years, providing a basis for addressing nutritional deficiencies in fertilization practices. Soil testing helps reduce cultivation costs by applying the right quantity of fertilizer, increases yields, promotes sustainable farming, and ensures additional income for farmers.
• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana: To promote organic farming, the government initiated the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), converting 2 lakh hectares into suitable land for organic farming, benefiting 5 lakh farmers. This aims to ensure a successful "Organic Farming Revolution" akin to the "Green Revolution," to the benefit of the farming community.

Ensuring Credit Availability to Enhance Productivity:

• Kisan Credit Cards: This scheme provides agricultural credit to farmers at subsidized rates, with a 2% interest subvention (IS) and a Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI) of 3%, effectively reducing the interest rate to 4%.
• PM-KISAN: This central government scheme aims to provide income support to all farmers' families across the country. Under PM-KISAN, a payment of Rs. 6000 per year is made in three 4-monthly installments of Rs. 2000, subject to certain exclusions concerning higher income groups.

Challenges in the Agricultural Sector

• Institutional versus Non-Institutional Agricultural Credit: Traditionally, rural agrarian credit needs were predominantly met through money-lenders, leading to widespread indebtedness.
• Small Land Holdings: Fragmented land holdings are a major issue, with 87% of farmers operating on small plots for subsistence farming.
• Low Productivity: Indian farms are generally smaller (averaging 1-2 hectares), making it difficult to achieve economies of scale.
• Low Mechanization: Compared to other agriculture-producing nations, mechanization in India is relatively low, and farmers do not utilize many high-yield input varieties.
• High Logistics Costs: India's logistics costs are around 14% of GDP, higher than those of developed country exporters like the US (9.5%).

Conclusion

The government needs to shift its focus from solely providing price support to farmers to building better infrastructure, bridging the gap between farmers and markets, implementing land reforms, policy reforms to increase the flow of credit to farmers, establishing food-processing industries for perishable goods, and providing improved irrigation facilities. These measures can help make agriculture a more sustainable livelihood option.