PM-Kisan, mandi reforms steal the show in 2019

Good monsoon may have laid the foundation for record foodgrain production, but it was the launch of schemes like PM-Kisan that has set the ball rolling for structural reforms in the agriculture sector to achieve the target of doubling farmers' income.

The Centre's focus in 2019, continued to be 'kisan kalyan' (farmers' welfare) in the second term of the Modi administration and the policy changes were as per the recommendations by the Dalwai Committee for doubling farmers' 2015-16 income level, in real terms, by 2022.

Not only the budget allocation for the sector was hiked over 78 per cent to Rs 1.39 lakh crore for the current fiscal, the government persuaded states to adopt long pending agri-marketing reforms as per the Model Agriculture Produce and Livestock Market Committee (APML) Act.

Besides, it tweaked some existing schemes for promoting quick transfer of new farm technology and facilitate agri-exports by allowing treatment of Methylcyclopropene (MCP) for enhancing the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables among others.

To mitigate severe agrarian distress, the government launched a new agri-scheme the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan), just before the Lok Sabha polls, with an aim to provide direct cash benefit of Rs 6,000 annually to each of 14 crore farmers. Later it also unvieled an old age pension scheme the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan-Dhan Yojana.

"By and large the government's priority was on improving the farmers' income and accordingly the schemes were framed and some existing ones were tweaked to achieve this objective," Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told PTI in an interview.

Asserting that several of the Dalwai Committee's recommendations are being implemented, the Minister said, "the work is in progress, the results will be visible soon."
Asserting that much awaited agri-market reforms are underway finally in the country, government think-tank Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand said, "the trend has begun now. Many states have started adopting mandi reforms which is a real game changer in the agriculture sector."