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Small farmers getting top priority in agricultural policies, efforts made to enhance their income: PM
PM Modi releases ninth instalment of ₹19,500 crore to 9.75 crore farmers, including ₹4,720 crore to Uttar Pradesh’s 2.25 crore farmers under PM-KISAN
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that now small farmers were getting the top priority in the country’s agricultural policies.
Serious efforts had been made during the last few years to enhance the income of small farmers through various initiatives, he said.
He was interacting with farmers after releasing the ninth instalment of ₹19,500 crore to 9.75 crore farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) during a virtual function that UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath also attended here.
“Under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, ₹1 lakh 60 crore has been given to farmers so far. Out of this, ₹1 lakh crore was transferred to small farmers during the pandemic period. More than 2 crore Kisan Credit Cards were issued during the corona period, most of them to small farmers,” he said.
The PM released ₹4,720 crore to Uttar Pradesh’s 2.25 crore farmers under the scheme. He said that the ₹2,000 instalment that each beneficiary got every four months helped farmers meet their expenses towards seeds, fertilisers etc because of which they were saved from falling prey to moneylenders.
The PM also interacted with the beneficiaries of the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Scheme that was launched a year ago.
Shyama Charan Upadhayaya, one of the beneficiaries, told the PM in a virtual interaction that he had formed a farmer producer organisation (FPO) involving 517 farmers in his district (Kasganj) in UP with assistance provided under the new scheme.
A BSc degree holder in botany, Upadhyaya grows medicinal and aroma plants on 280 hectares of land helping FPO members get a good income. The PM lauded Upadhyaya’s efforts of setting up a chilling and icing plant in the district.
Modi said the scheme of Kisan Infrastructure Fund with a corpus of ₹1 lakh crore completed one year on Monday and urged farmers to avail of the scheme to enhance their income.
Referring to the upcoming 75th Independence Day, he said that apart from being an occasion for pride, it was also an opportunity for new resolutions.
“We have to take this opportunity to decide where we want to see India in the coming 25 years,” he said.
He further said that agriculture and farmers had a big role in determining the condition of India in 2047, when the country would complete 100 years of independence.
“It is time to give a direction to India’s agriculture to face new challenges and take advantage of new opportunities,” he remarked. The PM said that the government had made the highest-ever purchase from farmers at MSP (minimum support price), be it the kharif or the rabi season.
“With this, about ₹1,70,000 crore has directly reached the accounts of rice farmers and about ₹85,000 crore has gone directly into the accounts of wheat farmers,” he said.
He urged farmers to grow pulses and oilseeds more and more to meet the country’s requirement.
The PM said that food parks, kisan rails and infrastructure fund would help small farmers.
“In the year gone by, more than 6,000 projects have been approved under the Infrastructure Fund. These steps increase the small farmer’s access to the market and his bargaining power through FPOs,” the Prime Minister said.
