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Panel recommends mapping and test water health in farms

The panel released two new volumes of its 14-volume report on doubling farmers' income

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Sanjeeb Mukherjee New Delhi
The Centre should extend the soil health card scheme to map and test water health of farms and also link it with fertilizer management systems to ensure judicious distribution of nutrients, an official panel on doubling farmers' income has said.

The panel released two new volumes of its 14-volume report on doubling farmers' income.

So far, six volumes of the report have been released while the remaining are in the process of preparation.

The latest drafts focused on sustainability in agriculture and extension services.

In its earlier drafts, the committee had estimated that the average real income of a farmer household in India could rise to Rs 219,724 by 2022-23 from the 2015-16 base year of Rs 96,703 with extra public and private investment of around Rs 6.4 lakh crore at 2011-12 prices is mopped up.

For the targeted 10.41 per cent annual increase in farmers' income from 2015-16 to 2022-23, the draft said that an additional private investment of Rs 1.31 lakh crore is required at 2011-12 prices while a public investment of Rs 5.08 lakh crore is required, report said.

Critics said the targeted over 10 per cent anuual increase in incomes was a tall order given that between 2002-03 to 2012-13, farm incomes grew by just 3.6 per cent per annum.

Meanwhile, in the new volumes, the draft said that to boost the nutrition level of soils, pulses cultivation should be promoted in a big way to meet the nitrogen requirement of soil.

It said the model bill on groundwater usage that proposes compulsory requirement of statutory permission to sink new bore wells, establishment of protected zones around drinking water sources and other measures should be immediately implemented in association of states.

It also called for re-categorisation of country's agro-climatic zones because of climate change which would help in developing fresh strategies and practices on sustainability. It also called for shift in cropping patterns and strategies and moving towards a system of more pigeon-wheat or maize-wheat instead of just rice and wheat in Indo-Gangetic plains.

The report also called for distributing carbon-credit to farmers and building drought-tolerant, photo insensitive, pest and disease resistant breeders.

On extension services, which forms and integral part of agriculture growth, the draft report said that agriculture extension services should be promoted through Coops, Farmer-producer Companies and Organizations. It said extension services should organize more buyer-seller meets.

The draft also recommended using the surplus land in Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs) for developing agri-business opportunities for farmers.

"Each KVK is in possession of about 50 acres of land which provides ample opportunity for developing agri-business enterprises, since the guiding principles of, with 10 per cent of the funds to be allocated for such initiatives," the report said.

KVKs are the frontline of extension services and are usually located in rural pockets to disseminate on-field knowledge to farmers. India has around 680 KVKs across the country which are run by Centre and also states.