Underlining the various measures being taken by the government for the agriculture sector, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that if the Small Farmers will be empowered, it will boost India’s GDP. He further noted that Small Farmers constitute 85% of the farming community and they face the challenge of lack of private investment. Farming is the backbone of India’s economy and the farm ecosystem is the main pillar of Indian economy.
Tomar said that the Central Government has undertaken an ambitious programme of forming 10,000 Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) with an outlay of Rs 6,865 crore to boost the economic capacity of the Small Farmers. While in the plains, 300 farmers can form an FPO, in the Hilly and North-Eastern Region 100 farmers can join to form an FPO. The FPOs can have a bargaining power to have new technologies, improved fertilizers and quality seeds as well as equipment and can add productivity through cluster farming.
Besides, the minister said that Rs 1,50,000 crore of Atmanirbhar package has been earmarked for the farmers including Rs 15,000 crore for Horticulture, Rs 20,000 crore for Fisheries, Rs 4,000 crore for Herbal Agriculture and Rs 10,000 crore for Food Processing Industries. He also said that in 2013-14 the Agriculture Budget was Rs 21,000 crore, which has been increased by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Government to Rs 1,25,000 crore at present.
