As the farm crisis looms large, the focus has shifted to Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh says the government is doing everything to help the farmers. Excerpts from an interview
The farmers in many of the states where the BJP got a huge mandate are angry and protesting. Why?
There are agrarian challenges that we need to consider. We feed 17 per cent of the world’s population, but have only 2.4 per cent of the world’s land area and only 4 per cent of the water. In the past three years, our government has done a lot of work, reforms have been carried out. Not only has the budgetary allocation been increased, but even the spending has increased considerably as compared to the past.
Is farm loan waiver the only answer or are there any other alternatives?
Our government is doing a lot to increase the farmers’ income. We started soil health card scheme to help the farmers understand the kind of fertilisers and nutrients they should use in the farm. It has led to 8 to 10 per cent reduction in consumption of fertilisers and 10 to12 per cent increase in production. We are promoting organic farming and integrated farming. The government is pushing for the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana in a big way. It aims to complete 99 pending agriculture programmes by 2019-20 and bring 7.6 million hectares of additional land under irrigation. We are also pushing for farm mechanisation and improving the marketing efficiency by creating e-Nam for online sale of farm produce.
What has the government done to solve the farm crisis?
The government has increased the budgetary allocation from Rs 45,035.20 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 62,376 crore in 2017-18. It has prepared a new strategy for the integration of non-budget resources, where Rs 40,000 crore have been allocated for projects under the accelerated irrigation benefit programme; Rs 5,000 crore for micro-irrigation and Rs 8,000 crore for dairy development.
Farmer suicides continue unabated. What is the government doing to save farmers from the moneylenders?
Farmers’ dependence on non-institutional credit line is one of the many reasons for the agrarian crisis. The government has improved the facility of institutional loans—from Rs 7 lakh crore in 2013-14 to Rs 9 lakh crore in 2016-17 and Rs 10 lakh crore in 2017-18. A short-term crop loan of Rs 3 lakh, at an interest rate of 4 per cent, is available, for which Rs 20,339 crore has been earmarked. In 2016-17, an advance claim amount was paid as immediate relief to farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The farmer suicides have come down.
How does a farmer cope with the rise in the cost of production?
The government is continuously increasing the minimum support price for various crops. The ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution is procuring wheat and rice through the state governments.
