The government’s main thrust is likely to be raising farmers’ income in 100 districts under the PM Dhana Dhaanya Yojana (PMDDY), announced in the Budget, as it has been observed that with increased income, farmers are capable of undertaking many initiatives either on their own or through government schemes.

Currently, the agriculture ministry is discussing the details of the scheme, which may be launched before Kharif season sowing, which usually starts in June with the arrival of the monsoon.

“We see that there are many States where production is high, but there are also some States where the output is lower. Within a state, we also see that some districts have lower productivity than others,” Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in the Lok Sabha last week during his reply on the Demand for Grants related to the agriculture ministry.

Under the PMDDY, the focus will be on 100 aspirational districts, benefiting 1.6 crore farmers, where the government plans to improve productivity, credit access, irrigation, and post-harvest management, Chouhan added.

The government told Members in the Rajya Sabha last week that the PMDDY programme will cover districts with low productivity, moderate crop intensity, and below-average credit parameters by facilitating long-term and short-term credit.

Sources said that increasing irrigation in those districts will be possible only if several schemes are merged under PMDDY to ensure farmers receive an assured water supply. For instance, services such as borewells, solar pumps, micro-irrigation, and electricity connections need to be integrated so that farmers do not have to run from one office to another at the local level to avail the subsidy.

The policy should also be flexible to allow farmers to buy the best products rather than sticking to what banks recommend, as stories of bad products often dissuade other farmers from availing the subsidy, sources said. If a submersible pump malfunctions within a short period despite being approved by the government or bank, small farmers have to buy another one from their own pocket or opt not to have any. In such cases, the purpose of PMDDY will be defeated, sources said.

However, when farmers’ incomes increase, they become capable of investing on their own. This is why the PMDDY may incorporate provisions to help farmers generate additional income, possibly through allied activities, sources said.

Meanwhile, the government said in the Rajya Sabha on March 21 that the Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income (DFI), headed by Ashok Dalwai, recognises agriculture as a value-led enterprise and has identified seven major sources of growth: improvement in crop and livestock productivity, resource use efficiency or savings in the cost of production, increase in cropping intensity, diversification towards high-value crops, improvement in real prices received by farmers, and a shift from farm to non-farm occupations.

“Several initiatives have already been rolled out on the recommendations of DFI Committee and all schemes/programmes of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare are aligned to achieve these objectives,” the government said.

It further stated, quoting the Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of Agricultural Households conducted between January 2019 and December 2019 by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), that the estimated average monthly income per agricultural household increased from ₹6,426 in 2012-13 (NSS 70th round) to ₹10,218 in 2018-19 (NSS 77th round). The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has also released a compilation of success stories of 75,000 farmers who have increased their income more than twofold, it said.

Published on March 23, 2025