AGRICULTURAL SITUATION IN INDIA

Transcription

1 ISSN Regn.No.:840 P. Agri Other Publications of the Directorate AGRICULTURAL SITUATION IN INDIA Agricultural Statistics at a Glance JANUARY, 2016 Glimpses of Indian Agriculture Land Use Statistics at a Glance FARM SECTOR NEWS Economics of Castor seed Cultivation in India GENERAL SURVEY OF AGRICULTURE AGRO-ECONOMIC RESEARCH Agricultural Prices in India ARTICLES Agricultural Wages in India Agricultural Diversification and Contract Farming in Punjab Assesment of Marketable and Marketed Surplus of Major Foodgrains in Haryana Changing Pattern of Cost of Cultivation in Kerala: An Inter-temporal Analysis COMMODITY REVIEWS Foodgrains Commercial Crops Determinants of Marketed Surplus of Vegetable Growers in Ranga Reddy District : An Econometric Analysis TRENDS IN AGRICULTURE Wages & Prices Cost of Cultivation of Principal Crops in India District-wise Area and Production of Principal Crops in India Farm Harvest Prices of Principal Crops in India Copies are available at: The Controller of Publications, Civil Lines, Delhi PRINTED BY THE GENERAL MANAGER GOVERNMENT OF INDIA PRESS, MINTO ROAD, NEW DELHI AND PUBLISHED BY THE CONTROLLER OF PUBLICATIONS, DELHI

2 Editorial Board Chairman Sangeeta Verma Editor P. C. Bodh Addl. Economic Adviser Yogita Swaroop Economic Officer Prosenjit Das Officials Associated in Preparation of the Publication D.K. Gaur Tech. Asstt. S.K. Kaushal Tech. Asstt. (Printing) Uma Rani Tech. Asstt. (Printing) V.M. Shobhana P.A. Cover Design By: Yogeshwari Tailor Asstt. Graph Publication Division DIRECTORATE OF ECONOMIC AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE COOPERATION AND FARMERS WELFARE, MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS WELFARE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA C-1, HUTMENTS, DALHOUSIE ROAD NEW DELHI PHONE : ( agri.situation@gmail.com) Subscription Inland Foreign Single Copy : ` or $ 4.5 Annual : ` or $ 45 Available from The Controller of Publications, Ministry of Urban Development, Deptt. of Publications, Publications Complex (Behind Old Secretariat), Civil Lines, Delhi Phone : , , , , , ( acop-dep@nic.in) Articles Published in the Journal cannot be reproduced in any form without the permission of Economic and Statistical Adviser. Agricultural Situation in India VOL. LXXII January, 2016 FARM SECTOR NEWS CONTENTS GENERAL SURVEY OF AGRICULTURE ARTICLES Agricultural Diversification and Contract Farming in Punjab Dr. Nirmal Singh Changing Pattern of Cost of Cultivation in Kerala: An Inter-temporal Analysis Dr. Ranjith Mathew Abraham Determinants of Marketed Surplus of Vegetable Growers in Ranga Reddy District: An Econometric Analysis Kappa Kondal Economics of Castor seed Cultivation in India Shri Debasish Guha and Shri Sankarsana Sahoo AGRO-ECONOMIC RESEARCH Assessment of Marketable and Marketed Surplus of Major Foodgrains in Haryana Usha Tuteja, Agro-Economic Research Centre, University of Delhi, Delhi COMMODITY REVIEWS FOODGRAINS COMMERCIAL CROPS : Oilseeds and Edible Oils Fruits and Vegetables Potato Onion Condiments and Spices Raw Cotton Raw Jute No.10 PAGES

3 The Journal is brought out by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, it aims at presenting an integrated picture of the food and agricultural situation in india on month to month basis. The views expressed, are not necessarily those of the Government of India. NOTE TO CONTRIBUTORS Articles on the State of Indian Agriculture and allied sectors are accepted for publication in the Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare s monthly Journal Agricultural Situation in India. The Journal intends to provide a forum for scholarly work and also to promote technical competence for research in agricultural and allied subjects. Good articles in Hard Copy as well as Soft Copy (agri.situation@gmail.com) in MS Word, not exceeding five thounsand words, may be sent in duplicate, typed in double space on one side of foolscap paper in Times New Roman font size 12, addressed to the Editor, Publication Division, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, M/o Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, C-1, Hutments Dalhousie Road, New Delhi along with a declaration by the author(s) that the article has neither been published nor submitted for publication elsewhere. The author (s) should furnish their address, Phone No. and their permanent address only on the forwarding letter so as to maintain anonymity of the author while seeking comments of the referees on the suitability of the article for publication. Although authors are solely responsible for the factual accuracy and the opinion expressed in their articles, the Editorial Board of the Journal, reserves the right to edit, amend and delete any portion of the article with a view to making it more presentable or to reject any article, if not found suitable. Articles which are not found suitable will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed and stamped envelope. No correspondence will be entertained on the articles rejected by the Editorial Board. An honorarium of Rs. 2000/- per article of atleast 2000 words for the regular issue and Rs. 2500/- per article of at least 2500 words for the Special/Annual issue is paid by the Directorate of Economics & Statistics to the authors of the articles accepted for the Journal. Wages STATISTICAL TABLES 1. Daily Agricultural Wages in Some States Categorywise Daily Agricultural Wages in Some States Operationwise. Prices 2. Wholesale Prices of Certain Important Agricultural Commodities and Animal Husbandry Products at Selected Centres in India. 3. Month-end Wholesale Prices of Some Important Agricultural Commodities in International Market during the year Crop Production 4. Sowing and Harvesting Operations Normally in Progress during February, Abbreviations used N.A. Not Available. N.Q. Not Quoted. N.T. No Transactions. N.S. No Supply/No Stock. R. Revised. M.C. Market Closed. N.R. Not Reported. Neg. Negligible. Kg. Kilogram. Q. Quintal. (P) Provisional. Corrigendum: This is to inform that the AERC paper published in the August 2015 issue of the Agricultural Situation in India titled Loan Repayment Problem in India authored by Manojit Bhattacharjee and Meenakshi Rajeev has been previously published in Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy-Vol. 35, Issue 2, The error is regretted. We are pleased to inform that our monthly journal Agricultural Situation in India has been accredited by National Acadamy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) and it has given a score of 2.76 out of 6. The score is effective from January, 2016 onwards. The score may be seen in the following website: Disclaimer: Views expressed in the articles and studies are of the authors only and may not necessarily represent those of Government of India. Soft copy of the journal may be seen in PDF at the following URL : eands.dacnet.nic.in/publication.htm PAGES

4 Farm Sector News* Government has decided to set up Buffer Stock of Pulses The Union Government has decided to set up buffer stock of pulses. Procurement of tur and urad for the buffer stock in the current Kharif marketing season by National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) and Food Corporation of India (FCI) at prevailing market prices is being done with assistance from Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF). NAFED and SFAC have been directed to procure 30,000 MT of Tur and 10,000 MT of urad at an estimated cost of Rs. 350 crore, while Rs crore have been released to FCI for undertaking the procurement. The procured stocks will first be allocated to States based on their demand. In case States do not lift either full or a part of the procured pulses, these pulses will be offered by Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) to agencies like Kendriya Bhandar, Mother Dairy for sale through their outlets. Alternatively, these pulses may be sold in open market on National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) or any other electronic platform in a transparent manner. The procured pulses will be disposed off within one year of end of procurement period to consumers. As a price stabilisation measure to control rising prices of pulses in 2015, it was decided to import pulses through Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC) with assistance from the PSF. MMTC floated a tender for import of 5000 MT of tur dal and received 4927 MT of tur 1078 US$ per Metric Tonne (MT) and at a total cost of Rs crore. The landed cost for the imported tur dal worked out to Rs. 77/kg. which was offered to the States at approximately Rs. 69/kg. While import was undertaken only as a short term price stabilisation measure, however, to safeguard the interest of farmers the Government, on the recommendations of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and on the recommendation of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), announced Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for Kharif Crops of Season and keeping in view the huge deficit of pulses, the Cabinet made an exception and decided to give a bonus of Rs.200 per quintal for pulses over and above the recommendations of the CACP. This is expected to give a strong price signal to farmers to increase acreage and invest for increase in productivity of pulses. However, presently, the wholesale prices for pulses like tur and urad are much above the MSP. The Union Government took a number of steps to meet the short supply of pulses including extension of "Zero import duty" on all pulses (except gram and lentils) without an end date. In case of gram and lentils "zero import duty" has been extended only upto 31st December, Inflow of FDI in Agriculture Sector As per data on sector-wise Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows maintained by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Government of India, during April 2000 to June 2015, FDI inflows in the agriculture services have been US $ Million (i.e. Rs crore) which is higher than the FDI inflows into sectors like textiles, mining and electronics. However, a FDI inflow in the agriculture services during the above period has been lower as compared to computer software & hardware, telecommunications, automobiles etc. In agriculture machinery, FDI inflows during the above period have been US $ million. To attract more FDI in agriculture sector, 100% FDI has been allowed in coffee, rubber, cardamom, palm oil tree and olive oil tree plantations, besides tea plantation in which FDI has already been allowed. Sufficient Stock of Foodgrains under Central Pool Production and acreage of major crops in some States during and have been lower than the previous years on account of delayed/deficient rainfall during monsoon season and untimely rains/hailstorm during rabi season. Despite decline in the pace of growth in agriculture sector due to loss of production and productivity of major crops on account of unfavourable rainfall and weather conditions etc. during and , the decline in the production of rice and wheat in the country has not been significant. Further, there is sufficient stock of foodgrains under central pool to provide enough quantity for the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and *Source : pib.nic.in January,

5 other Welfare Schemes and also for making foodgrains available in open market at affordable prices. As on 1st November, 2015 there is a stock of lakh tonnes of rice as against the stocking norm of lakh tones and lakh tonnes of wheat as against the stocking norm of lakh tonnes. In order to incentivize the farmers to increase production of agriculture crops by ensuring remunerative prices for their produce, the Government of India announces every season the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) of major agricultural commodities including oilseeds. While a regular mechanism for procurement of rice, wheat and coarse grains through Food Corporation of India (FCI) already exists, during Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) the Government of India has also designated National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), Small Farmers' Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC), National Cooperative Consumers' Federation (NCCF), Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) as nodal agencies for procurement of pulses and oilseeds. Similarly, for rabi marketing season also, the FCI has been designated as the Central Nodal Agency for procurement of pulses and oilseeds. Further, to discourage import of edible oils in the country, the Government has also raised custom duty on crude edible oils and refined edible oils from 7.5% and 15% to 12.5% and 20% respectively, effective from 17th September, In order to boost agricultural production to meet the demand of foodgrains and other crops in the country, the Government of India is implementing through State Governments, several Crop Development Schemes/ Programmes such as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP), Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India (BGREI), National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) etc. Under these Schemes/Programmes, funds are provided to States for implementation of State-specific agricultural strategies including incentives to farmers for use of quality seeds, Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), Integrated Pest Management (IPM), farm mechanization, etc. The States are also provided support for creation of agricultural infrastructure for optimal use of water and other natural resources. To achieve higher productivity of agricultural crops, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is also conducting basic and strategic research relating to crop improvement, production and protection technologies suitable to different situations including development of location-specific varieties/hybrids and technologies. Production of Vegetables with Lesser Cost The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has released a total number of 50 improved/hybrid/resistant varieties of vegetables like tomato, ladies finger, french beans, chillies, brinjal, amaranthus, palak, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, cauliflower, cucumber etc. suitable to hilly regions. The production costs are comparatively lower and they give better returns to the farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India under the scheme Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture provides financial assistance for adopting modernized methods of production of vegetables. Various components of the scheme are production and distribution of improved varieties of vegetable seeds, area expansion under hybrid varieties of vegetables, protected cultivation of vegetables under controlled conditions, promotion of micro irrigation and fertigation, integrated nutrient, pest and disease management, good agricultural practices, human resource development, organic farming, horticulture mechanization etc. Steps taken by the Government for Welfare of Farmers New Initiatives The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation and the Ministry of Agriculture have been renamed as the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare respectively. With a view to focus on the issues of farmers welfare, the DAC&FW has created a separate Division called 'Farmers Welfare' under the charge of a senior officer. The Government believes that farmers' welfare will improve if there is increase in net income from the farms. With this end in view, the approach is to reduce cost of cultivation, enable higher yield per unit and realize remunerative prices. Some of the important new initiatives in this context are: Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme by which the farmers can know the exact nutrient level available in their soils which will ensure judicious use of fertilizer application and save money. The balanced use of fertilizer will also enhance productivity and ensure higher returns to the farmers. Similarly, Neem Coated Urea is being promoted to regulate use of urea, enhance its availability to the crop and cut on cost. The entire quantity of domestically manufactured urea is now neem coated. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) is being implemented with a view to promoting organic farming in the country. This will improve soil health and organic matter content and increase net income of the farmer so as to realize premium prices. 2 Agricultural Situation in India

6 The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) is another innovative scheme to expand cultivated area with assured irrigation, reduce wastage of water and improve water use efficiency. In order to promote reforms of the agricultural marketing sector and to provide a common electronic platform deployable in selected regulated markets across the country, national scheme called 'National Agriculture Market' (NAM) has been introduced. The proposed new National Crop Insurance Scheme will protect the interest of farmers with a broader coverage towards crop losses and other such natural calamities. This is an intervention to cover the risks involved in farming. The State Governments are primarily responsible for development of the agriculture sector. However, the Government of India supplements the efforts of the States through appropriate policy measures and budgetary support. Various programmes/ schemes/missions for the development of agriculture sector are being implemented in a decentralized manner with flexibility to State Governments to formulate and implement appropriate projects to suit their specific requirements. Some of the important schemes/programmes implemented as Centrally Sponsored Schemes are National Food Security Mission (NFSM); Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH); National Mission on Oilseeds & Oil Palm (NMOOP); National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA); National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology (NMAET); National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP); Unified National Agriculture Markets; and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). Other measures taken for the benefit of the farmers include enhancement in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) to eliminate distress sale of agricultural produce by farmers, support to the farmers from time to time like debt waiver/relief, interest subvention on crop loans, revival package for strengthening Short Term Rural Cooperative Credit Structure, etc. Implementation of Soil Health Card Programme Under the Soil Health Card Scheme, as on , lakh soil samples collected, lakh samples analyzed and lakh Soil Health Cards issued to farmers. Government has planned to increase infrastructure and capacity of soil testing laboratories. From , and up to October, 2015, under the Soil Health Management, 103 Static, 77 Mobile Soil Testing Laboratories and strengthening of 269 numbers of existing laboratories sanctioned. As per Operational Guidelines of Soil Health Card Scheme, samples to be collected and tested in a grid of 2.5 hectare in irrigated area and 10 hectare in rainfed areas. Soil Testing Laboratories are established under Soil Health Management Scheme and from , and upto October, 2015, 77 Mobile Soil Testing Laboratories sanctioned to various States. New Initiative to Enable Higher Agriculture Yield per Unit With the view to reduce cost of cultivation, enable higher yield per unit and realize remunerative prices, for farmer, some of the important new initiatives taken. (i) Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme by which the farmers can know the exact nutrient level available in their soils which will ensure judicious use of fertiliser application and save money. The balanced use of fertiliser will also enhance productivity and ensure higher returns to the farmers. (ii) Neem Coated Urea is being promoted to regulate urea use, enhance its availability to the crop and cut on cost. The entire quantity of domestically manufactured urea is now neem coated. (iii) Parampragat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) is being implemented with a view to promoting organic farming in the country. This will improve soil health and organic matter content and increase net income of the farmer so as to realise premium prices. (iv) The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) is another innovative scheme to expand cultivated area with assured irrigation, reduce wastage of water and improve water use efficiency. (v) The Government is also implementing several Centrally Sponsored Schemes - National Food Security Mission (NFSM); Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH); National Mission on Oilseeds & Oilpalm (NMOOP); National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA); National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology (NMAET); National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP); Unified National Agriculture Markets; and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). (vi) The Government undertakes procurement of wheat and paddy under its 'MSP operations'. In addition, Government implements Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for procurement of agricultural and horticultural commodities not covered under the Minimum Price Support Scheme on the request of State/UT Government. The MIS is implemented in order to protect the growers of these commodities from making distress sale in the event of bumper crop when the prices tend to fall below the economic level/cost of production. Losses, if any, incurred by the procuring agencies are shared by the Central Government and the concerned State Government January,

7 on 50:50 basis (75:25 in case of North-Eastern States). Profit, if any, earned by the procuring agencies is retained by them. Production and Import of Pulses India imports pulses to meet gap between domestic production and demand. Major pulses imported by India are peas, chickpeas (gram), moong/urad, lentils, pigeon pea (tur). Pulses in India are imported by private sector and not by Government. However, in order to meet growing demand, the Government imported 5,000 ton pigeon pea (tur), recently. The Government promotes production of pulses through National Food Security Mission & other programmes. Government also announces Minimum Support Price (MSP) for pulses every year to support farmers. Production of pulses in the country is generally lower than their requirement by lakh tonnes. The quantity of pulses imported during (April-September) is lakh tonnes. The details of production of pulses in the country during , and are as under: Year Production of Pulses (Million Tonnes) Kharif Rabi Total * # *4th advance estimates #1st advance estimates (kharif only) The details of import of pulses during , and are as under: Year Quantity of pulses imported (Lakh tonnes) National Crop Insurance Programme Continued efforts are being made to create awareness about crop insurance schemes by the extension division of implementing States in coordination with the insurance companies. The salient activities under awareness campaign, involve the publicity of features & benefits of the scheme through advertisements in leading National/ local News Papers, telecast through audio-visual media, distribution of pamphlets, participation in agriculture fairs/ mela/gosti and organization of workshops/trainings and SMS through Kisan Portal etc. State Governments/UTs are also being regularly persuaded to increase the coverage including notifying more crops under crop Insurance schemes. Recently, Chief Ministers of those States which did not opt till date or had opted but withdrew later on, have been requested to review the matter personally and issue necessary direction to implement the scheme for the benefits of the farmers. Ten private General Insurance Companies have been empanelled alongwith Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) of India Ltd for implementation of Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) and Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) components scheme of NCIP. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana In order to enhance irrigation facilities in the country and also provide Har Khet ko pani, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) has been approved for implementation across the country. Major objective of PMKSY is to achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at field level, expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on -farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage of water, enhance adoption of precisionirrigation and other water saving technologies (More crop per drop), enhance recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable water conservation practices by exploring the feasibility of re-using treated Municipal Waste Water for peri-urban agriculture and attract greater private investment in precision irrigation system. In order to increase agricultural growth through enhancement of production and productivity of crops; Government of India is implementing, through State Governments various Crop Development Schemes/ Programmes viz. National Food Security Mission (NFSM); Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH); National Mission on Oilseeds & Oilpalm (NMOOP); National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) etc. As per Employment and Unemployment Survey conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) for (latest available) the share of employment in agriculture has been 48.9% as compared to 24.3% in secondary and 26.8% in tertiary sectors. Promotion of Horticulture Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) is being implemented during XII Plan under Krishi Unnati Yojana, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme w.e.f , for holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo. Under MIDH, the sub-scheme Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States (HMNEH) focuses on holistic development of horticulture in North Eastern region. 4 Agricultural Situation in India

8 For the year the total contribution of Agriculture sector in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant price ( ) is approximately 17%. Horticulture accounts for 30% (approx) of India's agricultural GDP. During the year total value of export of Horticulture is Rs. 14,365 crore. MIDH scheme also encourages aggregation of farmers into farmers groups like FIGs/FPOs and FPCs to bring economy of scale and scope, enhance horticulture production augment farmer's income and strengthen nutritional security, improve productivity by way of quality germ plasm, planting material and water use efficiency through Micro Irrigation, support skill development and create employment generation opportunities for rural youth in horticulture. Capacity buildings of farmers and technitions is also provided for adopting improved technologies, through existing institutions like State Agriculture Universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, institutes with Department of Horticulture in States. Scheme also envisages creation of infrastructure for Post Harvest Management (PHM) and marketing for better price realization of produce in order to ensure sustainable and insured livelihood for people employed in horticulture sector. Improved Post Harvest Handling and Processing of Agricultural Produce should be given Priority-said by Shri Radha Mohan Singh Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh has said that While increased productivity is an essential component of a vibrant Agricultural sector, improved post harvest handling and processing is essential to ensure value addition, reduction in wastage and transporting good quality products to markets. He was addressing the meeting of General Council of National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) here on 9th December, Shri Radha Mohan Singh said that agricultural cooperatives have a very important role to play in furthering the development of cooperatives in the larger interest of the farmers and rural populace. Full text of Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare speech: "It gives me great pleasure in welcoming you to the 78th meeting of the General Council of National Cooperative Development Corporation. All of us are well aware of the mandate of this Corporation and its role and functions in promoting cooperative development in our country, through financial assistance schemes covering farm and non-farm sectors, industrial and service cooperatives. NCDC has completed over five decades of service to the cooperatives and as a vibrant organization, continues to strive for sustained promotion and development of the cooperatives. At the outset, I would like to congratulate NCDC and its team of dedicated officers for their excellent performance in the fiscal year While financial sanctions of the order of Rs.7160 crore were made, the disbursements stood at Rs.5736 crore, exceeding the target of Rs.4800 crore. NCDC has posted a profit of Rs crore. Net Non Performing Assets (NPA) of the Corporation was maintained at 'Zero' and recovery rate was 99.89%. I am sure that NCDC will achieve ever greater heights and higher standards in the years to come. We are particularly giving special attention to development of cooperatives in the North Eastern States. Towards this end NCDC organized a Cooperative Summit on 21st August, 2015 at Shillong for cooperatives in the States of North Eastern region. The Summit was chaired by Dr. Mukul M. Sangma, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Meghalaya. Shri Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs graced the occasion as Special Guest of Honour and Shri Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare was the Chief Guest. Ministers of Cooperation of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland &Tripura were guests of Honour. Other Participants included Secretaries in charge of cooperation, Registrars of Cooperatives Societies, CEO's of Cooperative Banks & Societies in NER. Four members of Board of Management of NCDC also graced the Summit. The Summit was addressed by the Ministers who appreciated the efforts of NCDC for organizing such an event. States of NER made presentations & flagged issues which were deliberated upon. The main agenda of today's meeting are perusal and consideration of Annual Report and Annual Accounts of NCDC for the year The Annual Report and Audited Annual Accounts are required to be placed on the Table of both Houses of Parliament in the Winter Session. Most of the suggestions made by this august body at different points of time have been suitably addressed. However, development is a continuous process and efforts are on to make NCDC's assistance more attractive and affordable. I seek your wholehearted support in our endeavour to accelerate the growth of cooperative movement, as always". Long-term Measures to Increase Production of Pulses and for Creation of Buffer Stock of Pulses The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for creation of buffer stock of pulses. January,

9 The buffer stock would be created in current year itself. It has approved procurement of about 50,000 ton pulses from the kharif crop and one lakh ton out of arrivals of rabi crop of Procurement of pulses will be done at market prices through Food Corporation of India (FCI), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED), Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) and any other agency as may be decided. SFAC will undertake procurement through Farmer Producer Organisations. The procurement in kharif and rabi will be done at market price above Minimum Support Price (MSP) out of the Price Stabilisation Fund. The CCEA also decided to import pulses, if necessity arises, through a public sector enterprise of Ministry of Commerce. In case the prices fall below MSP, pulses for buffer stock will be procured at MSP under Price Support Scheme of Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare. The decision to create a buffer stock of pulses to deal with wide fluctuation in prices is an important step for checking food inflation. This will also encourage farmers to take up pulses production on a larger scale and will enable India to help achieve self-sufficiency in pulses in a few years. Pulses production is dependent on rainfall as pulses are mostly grown in rainfed areas. Pulses witness huge fluctuations in prices depending upon rainfall. It is necessary to create a buffer stock of pulses to reduce price fluctuations. This will also help in providing remunerative prices to farmers in times of excess production. The Ministry of Agriculture has identified gaps in the present strategy to increase production of pulses and has identified lack of availability of new varieties of seeds as an important hindrance in increasing productivity of pulses. In addition, more focus has to be given on Integrated Nutrient Management, Integrated Pest Management and Farm Mechanisation. Steps will be taken to expand the scope of National Food Security Mission (NFSM) from so that additional interventions for increasing production of pulses may be initiated. Subsidy to Farmers for Purchasing Agricultural Implements Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) provides Subsidy to farmers through State Governments under different schemes, such as Sub- Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY) for purchase of various agricultural equipments and machines. However, the Department scheme does not provide soft loans for purchasing agricultural implements. DAC&FW has identified equipments and machines for small and marginal farmers and provide subsidy on such agricultural equipments which helps in increasing agriculture production and productivity, improving utilization efficiency of costlier inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and irrigation water, besides reducing human drudgery & cost of cultivation. The scheme of Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization has been launched by the Department w.e.f with the objective of increasing the reach of farm mechanization to small and marginal farmers; Promoting 'Custom Hiring Centres', Creating hubs for hi-tech & high value farm equipments and creating awareness among farmers through demonstration and capacity building activities. Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes provides training to the farmers on operation, repair and maintenance of agricultural machines and equipments. During the year and , the funds allocated/released to Government of Punjab for farm mechanization under different schemes is as under: (Rs. in lakhs) Scheme (Allocation) SMAM NFSM NMOOP NIL 5.74 MIDH RKVY NIL Implementation of National Agriculture Market Project The National Agriculture Market (NAM) e-platform has been envisaged to bring in operational efficiency and transparency in the mandi operations and to enhance market access for the farmers and eliminate information asymmetry. In order to provide guidance to the States/ Union Territories (UTs) for integration of their regulated wholesale markets with the NAM e-platform, the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare has had workshops from time to time for the States/ UTs, one of which was the visit of State Ministers and officials to Hubli, Karnataka on 9th July, 2015 to witness firsthand the functioning of e-marketing platform. The Department has also circulated a detailed template to enable States/UTs to prepare their Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) to submit their proposals thereon to the Government. Further to facilitate integration, the implementing agency i.e. Small Farmers Agribusiness 6 Agricultural Situation in India

10 Consortium (SFAC) will engage a Strategic Partner (SP) which shall, inter-alia, train all participants (farmers, commission agents, traders, employees of the Market, data entry operators, etc.) in the market where the NAM is adopted, so that every participant is able to operate the NAM for its business requirement. Further, the SP will also provide one year local support to each participating mandi and set up a help desk to support day to day operations and to answer queries in the State language. Plan to Boost Production of Pulses The Government promotes production of pulses in the country through National Food Security Mission (NFSM) which covers 622 districts in 27 states. Around 50% of total allocation of NFSM is made for pulses for various interventions like demonstration of improved technology, distribution of quality seeds of new varieties, integrated pest management, water saving devices and capacity building of farmers. An additional allocation of Rs.440 crore has been made for rabi and summer pulses during In order to increase production of pulses in the eastern India, pulses have been included in the scheme Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India (BGREI) also from A special programme for demonstration of new varieties of pulses seeds through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) has been initiated from rabi The Government has substantially increased minimum support price (MSP) for pulses in the current year. Provision of Subsidy for Horticulture Equipments: Press Note With increasing agricultural labour Shortage in India, a calculated shift to mechanization is imperative. Not only does mechanization provide for optimal utilization of factor resources (viz., land, labour, water, capital and expensive farm inputs), it also helps farmers to save valuable time and effort. Judicious use of time, labour and resources helps facilitate sustainable intensification (multicropping) and timely planting of crops and towards giving crops more time to mature, leading to improved productivity. In India, horticulture mechanization is almost at an infant stage and for the growth of this sector; there is immediate need for intervention. The Government of India,, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare has introduced Sub-Mission of Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) scheme during The scheme aims at 'reaching the unreached' by bringing to the small and marginal farmers, the benefits of farm mechanization, especially regions where availability of farm power is low, Promoting 'Custom Hiring Centers', creating hubs for hi-tech& high value farm equipments, creating awareness among stakeholders through demonstration and capacity building activities, and ensuring performance- testing and certification at designated testing centers located all over the country. The operational guidelines of SMAM have been recently revised. These include the various Horticulture equipments along with Post-Harvest Technology equipments for oilseed, food grain and horticulture crops for financial assistance to the extent of 60% of the cost of equipment for Post Harvest Technology for SC,ST, small & marginal farmers, women, and NE States beneficiaries and 50% for other category beneficiaries and for Horticulture equipments 50% of the cost of equipment for SC, ST, small & marginal farmers, there is provision of subsidy for women, and NE States beneficiaries and 50% for other category beneficiaries. Similarly, there is provision of subsidy for Horticulture equipments at 50% of the cost of equipment for SC, ST, small & marginal farmers, women, and NE States beneficiaries and 40% for other categories beneficiaries. Farmer's Portal to Serve as a One Stop Shop The Farmers Portal along with mkisan Portal aims to serve as a One Stop Shop for all the farmers for accessing information on agricultural activities. The Portal provides information about package of practices; crop and seed varieties; common pests; dealer network for seeds, fertilizers & pesticides; machinery and tools; agro-met advisories, credit & insurance, rain-fed areas etc. Both these Portals can easily be accessible from any part of the country free of cost by the farmers by visiting the Ministry's site at URL: and Its activities are also highlighted through short discussion/interview on "DD Kisan Channel". Efforts are continuously being made to register farmers through mkisan Portal and Kisan Call Centre (KCC). Initiatives are also made to popularize this portal through advertisement in newspapers. Extension workers also put in their effort to popularize the portal among the farmers by holding meeting and workshop at different levels in the States. Promotion of Agro-Forestry Government of India is promoting Agro forestry and orchards in all States of the country under various missions/ schemes namely Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) and National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) of Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Green India Mission under Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Plan under Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)- a Centrally Sponsored Scheme is being January,

11 implemented during XII Plan, for holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo covering all States including Maharashtra, Himalayan states & UTs are covered under MIDH. The Mission envisages production and productivity improvement of horticulture crops including fruit orchards through coverage of area with improved cultivars, rejuvenation of senile orchards, protected cultivation, creation of water resources, adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), organic farming, including in situ generation of organic inputs. Besides, National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) has a component Rainfed Area Development (RAD) which is operational from the year in all 29 States of the country including Maharashtra. RAD aims at promoting Integrated Farming System (IFS) covering crops, livestock & fishery, horticulture, plantation and pasture based composite farming along with value addition activities for enhancing livelihood opportunities to enable farmers not only in maximizing the farm returns for sustaining livelihood, but also to mitigate the impacts of drought, flood or other extreme weather events. Under RAD, Agro-forestry and horticulture activities are being promoted as integral part of Integrated Farming System (IFS). Green India Mission (GIM) is one of the eight missions under National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The submission 4 of GIM encourages Agro- Forestry and Social-Forestry by increasing biomass and creating carbon sink. Ministry of Tribal Affairs through its programme Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Plan provides Grants to the State Government including Maharashtra for promotion of agro- based integrated livelihood initiatives such as Dairy development with State cooperative, horticulture, floriculture, vegetable production, apiculture, sericulture, fisheries, backyard poultries etc. without in any way disturbing the traditional agricultural practices, in order to create enabling environment for tribals to earn their livelihood at doorsteps with backward and forward linkages. E-Platform to Provide Access to the Farmers Across the Markets for their Produce In order to ensure free flow of Agricultural produce from one market area to another, save producers from multiple levies of mandi charges and to ensure agro commodities for consumer at reasonable prices, the Government has drawn a time bound programme for developing National Agriculture Market. The National e-platform developed for this proposes will cover 250 Agri mandis by September 2016 and by March 2018 total 585 mandis will have the system to ensure the farmers' access of for their produce across the markets. Briefing about the initiative of the Central Government to the Members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee, Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, said that the Government is actively working to usher in reforms of the Agri marketing system in the interests of farmers and consumers both. The center has urged the state Governments to introduce e-market platform within the state to unify mandis of the state so that farmers are free to sell in any of the mandi. Department of Agriculture will provide free software and help in its customization for the states. Shri Singh said that the Central Government has embarked on the idea of creating a unified market through an online platform at national level ultimately. National Agriculture Market (NAM) would offer a common market places by providing real time prices on a national level to the participants of the Agri Produce eco- systems. It would create an efficient trading system for Agri-produce, which would enable transaction between buyers and sellers from their existing location, thus expending the existing market and also facilitating transactions in places where marks physically do not exist, over a period of time. A new distribution channel for procurement and sale will come into existence, which would result in better price discovery for Agri- Produce, largely benefiting the frames. The prices reflected would be determined by demand and supply prevailing from time to time and shall be captured on real time basis, he said. He said that center has kept Rs. 175 crore to provide assistance of about Rs. 30 lakh per mandi for the software and it has already approved financial assistance for Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh. Government is Considering a Viable Insurance Scheme for the Farmers- said by Shri Radha Mohan Singh Recently launched Government programme of Pradhan Mantri Krishi SinchaiYojana, Soil Health Card Scheme, Prampragat Krishi VikasYojana, proposed National Agricultural market scheme will revolutionarise agriculture in years to come. The government is also seriously debating on bringing out a viable insurance scheme for the farmers. This was stated by Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare on the occasion of National Dialogue on "Innovative Extension System for Farmers Empowerment and Welfare" held here on 17th December, He said that the government is strengthening the extension infrastructure to new develop from lab to marginal farmer. Full text of Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare speech: "I am extremely happy to be here on the occasion of this important National Dialogue which is being 8 Agricultural Situation in India

12 organized at a very important juncture when the Indian Agriculture is facing a lot of challenges at recurrent droughts, floods and other weather related vagaries. I am sure the areas on which farmers are concerned much, will be deliberated at length in coming three days and way out may be drawn which may indicate the path for the future for inclusive growth with the participation of all stakeholders, safeguarding the interests of the farmers. India is having a pluralistic extension system which is dominated by the public extension system which has two approaches: field extension pursued by the development departments and frontline extension pursued by the ICAR and Agricultural Universities through Krishi Vigyan Kendras. Our focus is on strengthening of both these arms of extension. Of late, the Krishi Vigyan Kendras have demonstrated their visibility by fastening the process of Lab to Land process and their special contribution in creating awareness on soil health in the entire country. In pockets, private extension have also displayed their role in extending commodity specific knowledge and advisory to the farmers but we expect that the corporate houses will come in a bigger way to serve the society especially marginal, poor and landless farmers. Agriculture is a State subject and as per the state requirements respective Governments are initiating their programmes but Government of India has always been supporting the States with relevant schemes and other strategic information and advisory for success of agriculture sector. The Government policies of Pradhan Mantri Krishi SinchaiYojana, Soil Health Card Scheme, Prampragat Krishi VikasYojana, proposed National Agricultural market scheme will revolutionarise agriculture in years to come. The government is also seriously debating on bringing out a viable insurance scheme for the farmers. The extension is lacking infrastructure to reach the individual farmers (14 crore farmer families) and thus, looking into it, long awaited demand of the farmers have been fulfilled by starting a 24 hours Kisan Channel by Hon'ble Prime Minister. The extension is expected to provide information for production, protection, post-harvest, value addition, marketing, insurance, credit and other information related to the farmers regarding availability of inputs, weather, etc. Besides food security, nutritional security has been a matter of concern and this has to be appropriately dealt. Currently, one third of global production is lost or wasted annually which is enough to feed two billion people for a year. Most food loss takes place in post-production, harvesting, transportation and storage. This is a huge loss on account of economy, environmental and societal significance. Around 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger, under nutrition remains wide spread with some two billion people lacking essential nutrients like iron, zinc and vitamin A. FAO estimates that world food production must rise 60% to keep pace with demographic change. Whereas IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) predicts that crop yields may decline by 10-20% by Rising temperature are predicted to reduce catches of the world's main fish species by 40%. Live-stock contributes nearly 2/3 of agriculture's green house and 70% of its methane gas emissions. The soils are getting endangered by different ways which include imbalanced fertilizer use, growing of exhaustive crops, and non-inclusion of leguminous crops in the cropping systems and reducing organic carbon in the soil. As the holdings are getting smaller, the farmers need models which could ensure food security as well as regular flow of income from their land". Assistance to Farmers for Loss of Crops State Governments initiate necessary relief measures to farmers in the wake of drought from State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) which is readily available with them. Additional financial assistance to State Government, over and above SDRF, is considered from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) on receipt of relief memoranda from State Governments and in accordance with extant norms and procedures. During Kharif 2015, the Governments of Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand declared drought in parts of their States and submitted memoranda seeking financial assistance for drought affected areas from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). An amount of Rs crore has been approved for Karnataka from NDRF. The proposals from other States are at various stages of processing / finalisation. Besides other measures and provisions of funds under SDRF as also NDRF, the following interventions have been made in the wake of deficient rainfall as per IMD forecast of below average monsoon: (a) Implementation of Diesel Subsidy Scheme for protective irrigation of crops; (b) Enhancement of ceiling on seed subsidy to partially recompense the farmer for the additional expenditure incurred in resowing and/or purchasing appropriate varieties of seeds; (c) Implementation of interventions on perennial horticulture crops under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH); January,