Agriculture is a State subject and Government of India supports the efforts of States through appropriate policy measures, budgetary allocation and various schemes/ programmes. The various schemes/ programmes of the Government of India are meant for the welfare of farmers by increasing production, remunerative returns and income support to farmers. The Government has substantially enhanced the budget allocation of Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare (DA&FW) from Rs. 21933.50 crore BE during 2013-14 to Rs. 1,22,528.77 crore BE during 2024-25. Schemes/programmes initiated by DA&FW are conceptualised and implemented taken in consideration of improving the economic condition of farmers owning small handholdings, access to credit and to enhance overall income of farmers and remunerative returns in the agriculture sector.

PM KISAN Samman Nidhi Scheme has been launched in 2019 with the sole objective to enhance the income of farmers owning small landholdings. This scheme provides Rs. 6000 per year in 3 equal instalments. So far, more than Rs.3.46 lakh Cr. has been disbursed to eligible farmers through 18 instalments.

The other major schemes run by Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare for enhance of overall income of farmers are as under:

1. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana (PM-KMY)
2. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)/ Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS)
3. Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS)
4. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)
5. Formation and Promotion of 10,000 new Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs)
6. National Bee Keeping and Honey Mission (NBHM)
7. Namo Drone Didi
8. National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)
9. Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA)
10. Agri Fund for Start-Ups & Rural Enterprises’ (AgriSURE)
11. Per Drop More Crop (PDMC)
12. Sub-Mission on Agriculture Mechanization (SMAM)
13. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)
14. Soil Health & Fertility (SH&F)
15. Rainfed Area Development (RAD)
16. Agroforestry
17. Crop Diversification Programme (CDP)
18. Sub-Mission on Agriculture Extension (SMAE)
19. Sub-Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP)
20. National Food Security and Nutrition Mission (NFSNM)
21. Integrated Scheme for Agriculture Marketing (ISAM)
22. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
23. National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO)-Oil Palm
24. National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO)-Oilseeds
25. Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region
26. Digital Agriculture Mission
27. National Bamboo Mission

PM-AASHA (Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan) scheme ensures remunerative prices for farmers' produce and prevent distress sales. It aims to strengthen the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism and provide better price support for farmers.

“Formation & Promotion of new 10,000 FPOs with budget outlay of Rs 6,865 Crore. Farmers Producer Organization (FPOs) are being set up to give farmers collective bargaining power in markets as well as enabling small farmers to pool resources, access technology, and get better prices for their crops.

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) with financial provision of one Lakh Crore scheme has been launched with an objective to mobilize a medium - long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through incentives and financial support in order to improve agriculture infrastructure in the country. Following supports are being provided under Agri Infra Fund. 

Interest Subvention: All loans under this financing facility have interest subvention of 3% per annum up to a limit of ₹ 2 crore. This subvention is available for a maximum period of 7 years. In case of loans beyond ₹ 2 crore, interest subvention is limited up to ₹ 2 crore.

Credit Guarantee: Credit guarantee coverage is available for eligible borrowers from this financing facility under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme for a loan up to ₹ 2 crore. The fee for this coverage will be paid by the Government. In case of FPOs the credit guarantee may be availed from the facility created under FPO promotion scheme of DA&FW.

Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) provides Interest Subvention (IS) of 1.5% to various Financial Institutions (Banks, RRBs, PACS, etc.) for delivering Short-Term Agriculture Operation (STAO) loans at a fixed rate of 7% to farmers through KCC. If the farmer repays the loan within time, he gets a Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI) of 3%, bringing his loan liability to 4% overall (7% minus 3%). It is exclusively operated through Kisan Credit Card (KCC).

National Mission on Edible Oils – Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds) has been launched on 3^rd Oct, 2024 for enhancing the production of key primary oilseed crops such as Rapeseed-Mustard, Groundnut, Soybean, Sunflower, and Sesamum, as well as increasing collection and extraction efficiency from secondary sources like Cottonseed, Rice Bran, and Tree Borne Oils. The mission aims to increase primary oilseed production from 39 million tonnes (2022-23) to 69.7 million tonnes by 2030-31. Together with NMEO-OP (Oil Palm), the Mission targets to increase domestic edible oil production to 25.45 million tonnes by 2030-31 meeting around 72% of our projected domestic requirement. To ensure the timely availability of quality seeds, the Mission will introduce an online 5-year rolling seed plan through the ‘Seed Authentication, Traceability & Holistic Inventory (SATHI)’ Portal, enabling states to establish advance tie-ups with seed-producing agencies, including cooperatives, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and government or private seed corporations. 65 new seed hubs and 50 seed storage units will be set up in public sector to improve the seed production infrastructure.

The following have been proposed in the upcoming budget for income support, improve access to credit and overall growth of agriculture sector:

Enhanced Credit through KCC: - Loan increased from 3 lakh to ₹5 lakh to facilitate short term loans for 7.7 crore farmers, fishermen, and dairy farmers.

Aatmanirbharta in Pulses: - To launch a 6-year Mission with special focus on Tur, Urad and Masoor, emphasizing development and commercial availability of climate resilient seeds, enhancing protein content, increasing productivity and improving post-harvest storage and management, assuring remunerative prices to the farmers.

National Mission on High Yielding Seeds: - Targeted development and propagation of seeds with high yield, pest resistance and climate resilience.

Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana – It has been proposed Agri Districts Programme to cover 100 districts which is likely to help 1.7 crore farmers.

Mission for Cotton Productivity: - To be launched a 5-year mission to facilitate improvements in productivity and sustainability of cotton farming.

Makhana Board in Bihar: - It is proposed to set up Makhana Board to Improve production, processing, value addition, and marketing and organisation of FPOs.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shri Ramnath Thakur in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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