Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that the government has made significant steps in enhancing farmers' income, crop production, and institutional support over the past decade. Speaking during Question Hour on July 29, Chouhan highlighted a range of achievements reflecting Centre’s commitment to agriculture and rural development.
He shared that total crop production has increased markedly from 246.42 million tonnes in 2013–14 to 353.96 million tonnes at present. Pulses production rose from 16.38 to 25.24 million tonnes, while oilseeds production climbed from 27.51 to 42.61 million tonnes. Horticulture output also expanded from 280.70 to 367.72 million tonnes. Additionally, milk production has surged, credited entirely to farmers' efforts.
Highlighting key initiatives, Chouhan said government has adopted a six-pronged strategy: increasing agricultural output, reducing input costs, ensuring fair prices for produce, compensating losses, promoting diversification (including horticulture, fisheries, and livestock), and encouraging natural farming and balanced fertiliser use.
On the financial side, Chouhan noted that the agriculture budget has grown substantially, from Rs 27,000 crore during UPA era to Rs 1.27 lakh crore now. He also underscored impact of PM-Kisan scheme, which provides direct income support to nearly 10 crore farmers, and fertiliser subsidies worth nearly Rs 2 lakh crore annually. Institutional credit for farmers has also tripled, from Rs 7 lakh crore to Rs 25 lakh crore.
Since its launch in 2016, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has paid out Rs 1.83 lakh crore in claims against a premium collection of Rs 35,000 crore. The scheme now includes tenant and sharecropping farmers, with 6.55 lakh such farmers added recently. Overall, over 41.62 lakh farmers have benefited from scheme.
Chouhan also spoke about PM-AASHA scheme, which ensures procurement of pulses and oilseeds like tur, masoor, and urad at 100% Minimum Support Price (MSP). He assured the House that steps have been taken to prevent exploitation by middlemen and to ensure that MSP rates are effectively implemented.
Union minister emphasized that government has ensured a 50% profit margin over cost in MSP for crops. Since 2013–14, MSP rates have more than doubled. Here's a comparison:
|
Crop |
MSP in 2013–14 (Rs/quintal) |
Current MSP (Rs/quintal) |
|
Paddy |
1,310 |
2,369 |
|
Bajra |
1,250 |
2,775 |
|
Ragi |
1,500 |
4,886 |
|
Maize |
1,310 |
2,400 |
|
Tur |
4,300 |
8,000 |
|
Moong |
4,500 |
8,768 |
|
Urad |
4,300 |
7,800 |
|
Groundnut |
4,000 |
7,263 |
|
Sunflower |
3,700 |
7,721 |
|
Soybean |
2,560 |
5,328 |
|
Sesame |
4,500 |
9,846 |
|
Niger Seed |
3,500 |
9,537 |
|
Cotton |
3,700 |
7,710 |
He further pointed out that the procurement of pulses has risen dramatically, from just 6 lakh metric tonnes under previous government to 1.82 crore metric tonnes under current administration.
Chouhan also announced that PMFBY has been restructured to be more farmer-friendly. Under the revised norms, if insurers or state governments delay compensation beyond 21 days, they must pay 12% interest, which will be credited directly to farmers' accounts.
To enhance transparency and speed up compensation, government is rolling out YESTECH, a satellite-based technology system for digital crop loss estimation. This initiative is expected to address long-standing challenges related to crop-cutting experiments and enable faster, more accurate compensation under PMFBY.
