Page 41 - Prabuddh Gram

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Doubling farmers Income: Needs, Challenges & Prospect

Introduction: only income derived from agricultural activities
or would it also include income of farmers from
India is an agrarian country with around 70% of other sources.
its people depending directly or indirectly upon
agriculture. But farmers' suicides in India is Needs & Challenges:
worrying. As per the Central Government despite To achieve the target of doubling farmers' income
a multi-pronged approach to improving income by 2022, the Economic Survey 2021 has
and social security of farmers, over 12,000 highlighted few basic challenges which needs to
suicides were reported in the agricultural sector be addressed:
every year since 2013. Farmer suicides account
for approximately 10% of all suicides in India. Extension of Irrigation Facilities: The coverage
There is no denying that the menace of farmer's of irrigation facilities needs to be extended
suicides exists and runs counter to the aspirations while ensuring an effective water conservation
of reaping benefits of our demographic dividend. mechanism.
Among various reasons identified, meagre Improve Agricultural Credit: An inclusive
remuneration or income received by the farmers approach to provision for agricultural credit has to
paramount to others. be undertaken to address the issue of skewness
Central Government admitted that no actual in its regional distribution, it said.
assessment of farm income has been carried Land Reform: As the proportion of small and
out since 2013. The Government of India in its marginal holdings is significantly large, land
Annual Budget 2016-17 set a policy target of reform measures like freeing up land markets
doubling farmers' income by 2022. can help farmers improve their Income.
The goal of doubling farmers' income by the Boost to Allied Sectors: Allied sectors, such
year 2022 has been dubbed as impossible and as animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries,
unrealistic by some experts. Some commentators need to be given a boost to provide an assured
have produced calculations that agriculture secondary source of employment and income,
will require annual growth of 14.86 per cent especially for small and marginal farmers.
per year for five years to get farmers' income
doubled and pointed out that this growth level Farm Mechanisation: There is also a need to
hasn't been achieved even for one year in the address the issue of lower farm mechanisation
history of Indian agriculture. It seems that critics in India which is only about 40% as compared to
and sceptics focused more on five years and about 60% in China and around 75% in Brazil.
ignored substantive aspects of the matter .The Improving Food Processing Sector: More
substantive points are: (I), what is the period and focussed attention" is required to be given
targeted year for doubling the farm income; (II), to the sector due to its significant role in
what is to be doubled, is it output, value added reducing post-harvest losses and creation of
or income earned by farmers from agricultural an additional market for farm outputs. The food
activities; (III), whether nominal income is to processing sector is growing at an average
be doubled or real income is to be doubled; annual growth rate of more than 5% over the last
and four, whether the targeted income includes six years ending 2017-18.