Agriculture and Food Management

As per Fourth Advance Estimates for 2021-22, the production of food grains and oil seeds has been increasing Year-on-Year (YoY).

• Production of pulses has also been notably higher than the average of 23.8 million tonnes in the last five years.
• The year 2022 witnessed an early heat wave during the wheat-harvesting season, adversely affecting its production.
• The year experienced a decline in the sown area for paddy cultivation too in the Kharif season due to delayed monsoons and deficient rainfall.
• As per First Advance Estimates 2022-23 (kharif only) the paddy area was about 3.8 lakh hectares less than the sown area of 411.2 lakh hectare during 2021-22 (kharif season).
• Further, in the current rabi season the area under rabi paddy has expanded by 6.6 lakh hectares as compared to last year (Crop Weather Watch Group 12 January 2023).
• As per the First Advance Estimates for 2022-23 (Kharif only), total food grains production in the country is estimated at 149.9 million tonnes which is higher than the average Kharif food grain production of the previous five years (2016-17 to 2020-21).
• Despite a fall in the sown area of Kharif paddy, the total production of Kharif rice during 2022-23 is estimated at 104.9 million tonnes, which is higher than the previous five years (2016-17 to 2020-21) average Kharif rice production of 100.5 million tonnes.

Credit

• Kisan Credit Card Scheme (KCC) was introduced in 1998 for farmers to empower them to purchase agricultural products and services on credit at any time.
• As of 30 December, 2022, banks issued Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to 3.89 crore eligible farmers with a KCC limit of Rs.4,51,672 crore.
• With the Government of India extending the KCC facility to fisheries and animal husbandry farmers in 2018-19, the number of such cards in the fisheries and animal husbandry sector has also grown.
• As of 17 October 2022, 1.0 lakh KCCs have been sanctioned for the fisheries sector and 9.5 lakh (as of 4 November 2022) for the animal husbandry sector.

Chemical-free India

• Organic and natural farming provides chemical fertiliser and pesticide-free food grains and other crops, improves soil health and reduces environmental pollution.
• India has 44.3 lakh organic farmers, the highest in the world, and about 59.1 lakh ha area was brought under organic farming by 2021-22.
• Sikkim voluntarily adopted going organic, and the process of getting the total cultivable land of 58,168 hectares under organic farming commenced at ground level in 2010.
• It became the first State in the world to become fully organic, and other States, including Tripura and Uttarakhand, have set similar targets.
• The Government has been promoting organic farming by implementing two dedicated schemes, i.e., Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) since 2015 through cluster/ Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) formation.

PM KISAN Scheme

• It is a Central Sector Scheme to supplement the financial needs of land-holding farmers.
• The financial benefit of Rs.6,000 per year is transferred into the bank accounts of farmer families through DBT.

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)

• AIF is a financing facility operational from the year 2020-21 to 2032-33 for the creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farm assets, with benefits including 3 per cent interest subvention and credit guarantee support.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

• PMFBY is currently the largest crop insurance scheme in the world in terms of farmer enrolments, averaging 5.5 crore applications every year and the third largest in terms of the premium received.
• The scheme promises minimal financial burden on the farmer, with farmers paying only 1.5 per cent and 2 per cent of the total premium for the Rabi and Kharif seasons, respectively, with Centre and State Governments bearing most of the premium cost.

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)

• Several expert groups have identified horticulture as a high-growth area and a source of buoyant income and improved resilience for farmers.
• The scheme to promote horticulture covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, spices, flowers, plantation crops etc., was introduced in 2014-15.
• The interventions include introducing improved varieties and quality seeds, incentives for plantation crops, cluster development, and post-harvest management.
• According to third advance estimates (2021-22), a record production of 342.3 million tonnes in an area of 28.0 million hectares was achieved.
• The government has identified 55 horticulture clusters, of which 12 have been selected for the Cluster Development Programme (CDP) pilot phase.

E-NAM

• As on 31 December 2022, more than 1.7 crore farmers and 2.3 lakh traders have been registered on e-NAM portal.

Millets

• India produces more than 50.9 million tonnes (as per fourth advance estimate) of millet which accounts for 80 per cent of Asia’s and 20 per cent of global production.
• The global average yield is 1229 kg/ha, whereas India has a higher average yield of 1239 kg/ha.
• In India, millets are primarily a Kharif crop mostly grown in rainfed conditions, requiring less water and agricultural inputs than other staple crops.
• Given the nutritional value of the millets, the Government notified Millets as Nutri-cereals in April 2018.
• Under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), millets have been introduced to provide nutritional support. A sub-mission on Nutri-cereals is being implemented since 2018-19 in 212 districts of 14 States.

Allied Sectors

• The allied sectors of Indian agriculture - livestock, forestry & logging and fishing & aquaculture are gradually becoming sectors of buoyant growth and a potential source of better farm incomes.
• The livestock sector grew at a CAGR of 7.9 per cent during 2014-15 to 2020- 21 (at constant prices), and its contribution to total agriculture GVA (at constant prices) has increased from 24.3 per cent in 2014-15 to 30.1 per cent in 2020-21.

Food Processing

• The food processing sector is of enormous significance for India's development because of the strong connections and interactions it promotes between industry and agriculture.
• During the last five years ending FY21, the food processing industries sector has been growing at an average annual growth rate of around 8.3 per cent.
• As per the latest Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) 2019-20, 12.2 per cent of persons in the registered manufacturing sector were employed in the food processing sector.
• The value of agri-food exports, including processed food exports, was about 10.9 per cent of India's total exports during 2021-22.

Food Security

• Till December 2022, the NFSA provided, for coverage of up to 75 per cent of the rural and up to 50 per cent of the urban population highly subsidised food grains at Rs.1/2/3 per kg for coarse grains/ wheat/rice, respectively, at the rate of 35 kg per family per month to households covered under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and at the rate of 5 kg per person per month to priority households.
• In a recent decision, the government has decided to provide free foodgrains to about 81.35 crore beneficiaries under the NFSA for one year from January 1, 2023.
• To remove the financial burden of the poor, the government will spend more than Rs.2 lakh crore in this period on food subsidies under NFSA and other welfare schemes.
• Under this, the Government will provide 5 kg of foodgrains per person to Priority Households (PHH) beneficiaries and 35 kg per household to Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries (poorest of the poor) free of cost for the next year.