Govt tweaks agri growth plan to make farming a profitable profession

To make farming a remunerative profession, the government today approved changes to ongoing central scheme Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) with a focus on value chain, post-harvest infrastructure and agri- entrepreneur development, among others.

Now, the scheme has been rebranded as RKVY-Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation (RAFTAAR) to be implemented for three years till 2019-20 with a budget allocation of Rs 15,722 crore.

A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"CCEA has approved the continuation of RKVY as RKVY- RAFTAAR for three years," an official statement said.

The objective of the scheme is to make farming a remunerative economic activity through strengthening the farmer's effort, risk mitigation and promoting agri­business entrepreneurship, it said.

The RKVY-RAFTAAR funds would be provided in the ratio of 60:40 to the states except for north east and Himalayan states which will get 90:10 grant.

Under the revamped scheme, the government said about 50 per cent of the annual outlay will be provided for setting up infrastructure and assets, 30 per cent for value-addition linked production projects and 20 per cent of the outlay will be flexi-funds for supporting any project as per the local needs.

That apart, about 20 per cent of the annual outlay would be provided for implementing special sub-schemes of national priorities under RKVY-RAFTAAR.

Also, 10 per cent of the annual outlay would be provided for innovation and agri-entrepreneur development through creating end-to-end solution, skill development and financial support for setting up the agri-enterprise.

"The scheme will incentivise states in enhancing more allocation to agriculture and allied sectors. This will also strengthen farmer’s efforts through creation of agriculture infrastructure that helps in supply of quality inputs, market facilities, etc," the official statement said.

This will further promote agri-entrepreneurship and support business models that maximise returns to farmers, it added.