NITI Aayog plan to double farm income; to focus on irrigation, seeds

Irrigated farmland in the country must increase by 19 per cent and availability of quality seeds by 167 per cent if the Centre wants to double farmers’ real income by 2022-23, according to a plan devised by NITI Aayog.

The base year for this calculation is 2015-16. 

The plan, which comprises physical targets to be attained along with policy interventions, is likely to be shared with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in the coming weeks. It could also be put in the public domain as a discussion paper.

The plan says unless efficiency is achieved, the Centre will need to increase NPK fertiliser availability by 38 per cent to 36 million tonnes by 2021-22. It also talks of the power supply needed on farms, intensity of crops and how much land will be needed for high-value crops.

“Till now, most of the discussion on doubling farmers’ incomes has been theoretical. We needed something on the ground to achieve the objective. The action plan tries to do that,” said Ramesh Chand, member of NITI Aayog.

The Aayog has suggested that instead of crop-specific advice, the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) divide farmland into clusters and suggest comprehensive packages for growth of farming in individual areas. This could include horticulture, livestock and alternative sources of income.

“A comprehensive set of advisories will enable farmers to adopt a holistic approach to farming,” Chand said.

The Aayog has also suggested reforming agriculture marketing, speedier adoption of a modern land lease law, private participation in direct purchase of farm produce and modern storage facilities.

The Centre has started discussions with stakeholders to devise a roadmap for doubling farmers’ real incomes by 2022-23. A 2012-13 NSSO survey showed the nominal income of farmers usually doubled every six years. It pegged the average income at Rs 6,426 per month in 2012-13 against Rs 2,115 per month in 2002-03. The Centre now wants to double farmers’ real income.

The Action Plan

• Area under irrigation should be increased by 19% by 2022-23 to 110.4-mn hectares
• Availability of quality seed should increase by over 167% to around 8-million tonnes
• Unless efficiency is improved, India would need to up its NPK supplies by 39% to 36-mn tonnes
• ICAR should start giving comprehensive and exhaustive advisories for the entire farm and not just crop specific advisories