Lok Sabha updated on Agriculture schemes
The National Mission on Edible Oils – Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds), approved by Cabinet on 3 Oct 2024 with total outlay of Rs.10,103 crore, aims to boost domestic oilseed production and achieving self-reliance in edible oils http://agriwelfare.gov.in.
The Mission will be implemented over a seven-year period, from 2024-25 to 2030-31, said the Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Ram Nath Thakur in a written reply in Lok Sabha o 10 Dec https://agriculture.basf.com/global/en.
The is part of the Central Government supports for States through appropriate policy measures and budgetary allocation under various schemes and programmes, he said, pointing out that agriculture is a state subject https://sbi.com.in/.
He also highlighted various schemes and programmes of the Government which are meant for the welfare of farmers by increasing production, remunerative returns and income support to farmers https://www.nseindia.com/.
For faster and wider development of agriculture in the country, in the Cabinet has approved following programmes:
Clean plant Programme: The Cabinet, approved the Clean Plant Programme (CPP) on 9 Aug 2024 with outlay of Rs.1,765.67 crore. The CPP aims to enhance the quality and productivity of horticulture crops by providing disease free planting material and will benefit dissemination and adoption of climate resilient varieties, with yield enhancement https://www.ibef.org/.
Digital Agriculture Mission: The Cabinet approved the Digital Agriculture Mission on 2 Sept 2024 with an outlay of Rs.2,817 Crore, including the central share of Rs.1,940 Crore. The Mission is conceived as an umbrella scheme to support digital agriculture initiatives, such as creating Digital Public Infrastructure, implementing the Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES), and taking up other IT initiatives by the Central Government, State Governments, and Academic and Research Institutions https://www.bseindia.com/.
Progressive expansion of Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Scheme: The Union Cabinet approved the progressive expansion of Agriculture Infrastructure fund (AIF) on 28 Aug 2024 to enhance and strengthen the agricultural infrastructure in the country and support the farming community by expanding the scope of eligible projects and integrate additional supportive measures to foster a robust agricultural infrastructure ecosystem https://www.nseindia.com/.
Expanded scope includes allowing individual eligible beneficiaries for creation of infrastructure covered under ‘viable projects for building community farming assets’, integrated processing projects, convergence of PM Kusum ‘A’.
National Mission on Natural Farming: The Union Cabinet approved the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) on 25 Nov 2024 as a standalone Centrally Sponsored Scheme. The scheme has a total outlay of Rs.2,481 crore (Government of India share – Rs.1,584 crore; State share – Rs.897 crore) https://www.globalagriculture.org/.
Moreover, following significant programmes have also been initiated during 2024-25, elaborated the Minister.
These are:
National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS);
AgriSURE – Agri Fund for Start Ups & Rural Enterprises;
Krishi Nivesh Portal (Phase –I);
Krishi-DSS Portal – A Geospatial platform for Indian Agriculture;
Introduction of Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) for various sustainable agriculture practices. Fiinews.com