Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Budget attempts to provide relief to drought-hit farmers -Jitendra

Budget attempts to provide relief to drought-hit farmers -Jitendra

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Mar 3, 2016   modified Modified on Mar 3, 2016
-Down to Earth

But boost in agriculture budget not enough, say experts

Sensing the prevailing agriculture crisis, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley announced in the Union Budget that budgetary allocation for the agriculture and farmers’ welfare ministry will be increased 45 per cent compared to last year. The government has set aside an allocation of Rs 35,984 crore which is Rs 11,000 crore more than that of last year. (See table). Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed this a “farmer-centric” budget.
 
Budget 2016
 
The increase in allocation is seen as the result of back-to-back droughts that have plagued the country’s agriculture sector. The sector registered minimal growth (1.1 per cent) in 2015-16, an El Niño year which was widely considered as the factor behind a weak monsoon.

Details showing which scheme got additional funds are awaited.

Agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan has welcomed the government’s commitment to increasing farm household income. Swaminathan, who also headed the National Commission on Farmers (NCF), has suggested five steps to increase income of farm households in the real term.

“First, there should be higher productivity of small farms leading to larger marketable surplus. Second, there must be knowledge, skill, credit and land ownership empowerment of women farmers who carry out over 60 per cent of farm work. Third, substitute low value crops with high value ones like fruits, vegetables and flowers as well as animal products. Four, promote biomass utilisation so that every part of the plant is utilised for preparing value-added products through initiatives like Rice BioPark and finally, the procurement price should be based on the NCF proposal namely, C2 plus 50 per cent,” he says.

Foolproof ambitions?

Despite the huge jump in allocation, the Budget document is silent over the mechanism for doubling farmers’ income by 2022, a claim made by the prime minister. The average monthly income of an Indian farmer is less than Rs 6,426.

“If we go by the current income of farmers, the average income of farmers would not be more than Rs 10,000 per month after six years,” says Ramanjaneyelu G V of Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, a Hyderabad-based non-profit working on organic farming.

Experts are critical of the minor increase in agriculture credit from Rs 8.5 lakh crore to Rs 9 lakh crore. Besides, there has been no increase in the interest subvention funds of Rs 15,000 crore. Interest subvention fund is a subsidy to reduce the burden of loan repayment on farmers.

“These credits are for agri-industries. Farmers only get around 7-8 per cent of the total credit. Last year, only 21 per cent farmers were able to get loans and the rest of them got loans from private money lenders. The huge NPA (non-performing assets) will also impact the possibility of farmers getting loan from banks,” says Ramanjaneyulu.

Down to Earth, 29 February, 2016, http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/budget-attempts-to-provide-relief-to-drought-hit-farmers-52969


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close