Doubling Farmers Income

In the 2016 Budget, the Government of India announced that it would double the farmer’s income until 2022. This was not achieved, but discussing ways to double or increase farmers’ income is worth discussing.

• Ashok Dalwai Committee has prepared a report on the way to Double Farmer’s income. The committee submitted a 14-volume report highlighting that income growth must come from increased productivity, efficiency, diversification, and market linkages.
• Agriculture Ministry has given Seven-Point Strategy for Doubling Farmers income
  1. Improvement in crop productivity
  2. Improvement in livestock productivity
  3. Resource use efficiency or savings in the cost of production
  4. Increase in the cropping intensity
  5. Diversification towards high-value crops
  6. Improvement in real prices received by farmers
  7.  Shift from farm to non-farm occupations.  

• There are some issues as the definition of who constitutes a farmer in India is faulty. The Government considers that person as a farmer who owns the land and possesses a record of right (RoR). But it creates an issue of exclusion and inclusion error. This leaves out tenant farmers, sharecroppers, and women cultivators from institutional benefits, despite them being active in farming.

1. More from Less

• Going towards low-input, high-output agriculture, especially Organic farming and Zero Budget Natural Farming.
•  This improves soil health, reduces cost of production, and taps into premium markets, especially exports.

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2. Better Market Price Realization

Farmers should be able to sell their produce at good prices. It can be achieved by

• Revision of the APMC Act.
• Promoting Contract Farming.   
• Focusing on the “demand-driven fork-to-farm approach” (i.e. farmers should produce what consumers demand). Until now, the focus was on ‘farm to fork’ approach.

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3. Providing Extension Services

• Extension services provided to the farmers should be increased. For this, the government should utilize ICT. It can help the farmers make correct decisions regarding inputs and crop-mix decisions.

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4. Food Processing

• There should be more value addition by promoting food processing. The government has already started schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana, promoting agro-processing clusters, etc.

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5. Insurance and Credit Cushion

• Government should promote Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to reduce possible risks. 
• The government should increase the percentage of Institutional Credit to farmers so that they can invest in their farms to increase productivity.

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6. Diversification

• Emphasis on Livestock Sector: Animal husbandry, beekeeping, fishery etc., duly supported by Food Processing Industry should be promoted as a side business to increase farmer’s income.  
• Farmers should diversify into agroforestry by planting trees on the boundaries of farm fields.
• Agri-tourism and mushroom cultivation are other unexplored high-return options for small farmers.

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7. Governance

• States should pass the Model Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing Act (APLM) 2017.
• Government should increase the budgetary allocations to Agricultural Universities, which can do R&D for increasing farmer productivity. 
• Leasing laws should be reformed so that farmers can lease land easily and do farming on a viable piece of land. Model Land Leasing Act, 2016 prepared by NITI Aayog is a step in this direction but needs wider state adoption.