With time running out for the Narendra Modi government to fulfil its promise of actually doubling the income of farmers, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday decided to club 11 separate schemes and missions in the agriculture space into an umbrella scheme called 'Green Revolution—Krishonnati Yojana' and extend it beyond the 12th Five-Year Plan to 2019-20.
The government also decided to give farmers the direct benefit of Rs 5.50 per quintal of cane crushed this season to offset the cost of sugar mills that are unable to make the full payment.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the aim of merging the 11 programmes was to implement the schemes and monitor them effectively, so as to realise the government's aim of doubling the income of farmers by 2022, the party's deadline for this goal. Lok Sabha polls are due in the first half of 2019.
Though the 11 schemes are all in the Centre-state space, the Central share in these schemes comes to Rs 33,269.967 crore. The programmes are intended to develop the agriculture and allied sectors in a holistic and scientific manner to increase the income of farmers by enhancing production and productivity and ensuring better returns on produce.
The merged missions are Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH); the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) including the National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP); National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA); Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE); the Sub-Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP); the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM); Sub Mission on Plant Protection and Plan Quarantine (SMPPQ); Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Census, Economics and Statistics (ISACES); the Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Cooperation (ISAC); the Integrated Scheme for Agricultural Marketing (ISAM) and the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP-A).
The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP-A), with a total Central share of 211.06 crore, will connect these schemes all digitally. It aims to bring farmer centricity and service orientation to the programmes, enhance the reach and impact of extension services, improve access of farmers to information and services throughout crop cycle, among other things. It will also build upon, enhance and integrate the existing initiatives of the Centre and States and enhance efficiency and effectiveness of programmes by making available timely and relevant information to the farmers.