A Deep Dive into India’s Agricultural Reforms
This document outlines a comprehensive set of agricultural reforms in India aimed at transforming the farming sector by boosting farmer income, ensuring price assurance, expanding risk coverage, and strengthening infrastructure support. These initiatives encompass direct financial aid, digital agriculture, and aim to foster financial stability and a more resilient rural economy for millions of farmer families.
Pillar 1
Uplifting Farmer Income: Direct Support and Collective Strength
Direct Income Support: The PM-KISAN scheme, launched in 2019, provides eligible landholding farmer families with ₹6,000 annually in three equal installments. This aims to cover input costs and ensure basic financial stability, particularly for small and marginal farmers, with studies indicating a positive correlation with increased agricultural investments and productivity.
Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs): Promoting FPOs empowers small and marginal farmers by enhancing their collective bargaining power, reducing input costs, and improving access to markets, credit, and technology, thereby contributing to income growth and rural development.
Pillar 2
Ensuring Price Assurance: MSP and PM-AASHA
Minimum Support Price (MSP): The MSP system is a central policy to protect farmers from market price volatility. The government announces MSPs for 22 mandated Kharif and Rabi crops, aiming to provide a minimum of 50% profit over the cost of production. This system offers price stability, encourages the production of essential grains, and contributes to food security.
Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA): This umbrella scheme strengthens price assurance through:
- Price Support Scheme (PSS): For physical procurement of pulses, oilseeds, and copra at MSP.
- Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS): Direct compensation to farmers if market prices fall below MSP.
- Market Intervention Scheme (MIS): To stabilize prices for perishable horticultural commodities.
PM-AASHA offers a comprehensive approach to mitigating market risks and supporting sustainable agriculture.
Pillar 3
Comprehensive Risk Coverage: Credit and Insurance Solutions
Crop Insurance:
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): A comprehensive scheme providing financial protection against yield losses due to natural calamities, pests, and adverse weather. Farmers pay affordable premiums, with the government subsidizing the remaining cost, offering a crucial safety net.
Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS): Complements PMFBY by linking payouts to specific weather triggers (e.g., deficit rainfall, high temperatures) for protection against adverse weather perils.
Agricultural Credit:
Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS): Offers concessional short-term agricultural loans through Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) at a 7% interest rate, reduced to 4% for prompt repayments. This enhances farmer liquidity, reduces reliance on informal credit, and promotes timely loan repayment, contributing to financial stability.
Pillar 4
Bolstering Infrastructure Support: From Storage to Mechanization
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF): A ₹1 lakh crore fund providing medium- to long-term debt financing for projects like cold storage, warehouses, grading units, and community farming assets near farm gates. This aims to strengthen supply chain efficiency and enable farmers to store produce for better market timing.
Other Schemes:
- Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY-RAFTAAR): Focuses on developing pre- and post-harvest infrastructure.
- Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI): Supports the construction and renovation of storage facilities.
These investments modernize agricultural practices, transition to profitable agribusiness models, and impact farmer income and food security.
Pillar 5
Advancing Irrigation: “Har Khet ko Pani” and “More Crop Per Drop”
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY): This umbrella scheme, with mottos “Har Khet ko Pani” (water to every field) and “More Crop Per Drop,” aims to expand assured irrigation and improve water use efficiency.
Key Components:
- Promotes advanced micro-irrigation techniques (drip and sprinkler systems) to reduce water wastage and maximize yields.
- Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP): Focuses on completing major and medium irrigation projects.
- “Per Drop More Crop” initiative: Provides financial assistance for precision irrigation installations.
These advancements ensure stable harvests and safeguard farmer income against climatic uncertainties.
Pillar 6
Modernizing Marketing: e-NAM and Direct Access
e-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM): This portal integrates existing APMC mandis nationwide into a unified digital marketplace. It facilitates transparent online trading, real-time price discovery, and direct e-payment settlements into farmers’ bank accounts, offering wider market access and better price realization.
Other Initiatives: Earlier policy efforts (like the repealed Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020) aimed to allow sales outside APMC mandis. The continued promotion of FPOs also enables farmers to aggregate produce and access markets directly, bypassing traditional channels and enhancing bargaining power. These initiatives collectively aim for greater supply chain efficiency and a more competitive agricultural market.
Pillar 7
The Digital Revolution in Agriculture: Smart Farming for Tomorrow
Digital Agriculture Mission 2021-2025: Aims to build a national digital public infrastructure for agriculture, integrating services from crop advisories to market intelligence.
Key Components:
- Agri-Stack: Creating digital identities for farmers and collecting crop data.
- Krishi Decision Support System (K-DSS): Utilizes satellite, weather, and soil data for real-time insights and informed decision-making.
Smart Farming Technologies:
- Precision farming is gaining traction with IoT devices, sensors, and drones.
- These tools enable remote monitoring, optimized use of fertilizers and water (reducing water usage by up to 30% with automated irrigation), and AI-driven pest management, leading to increased yields and reduced waste.
Digital Platforms: Kisan Suvidha App, Kisan Call Centres, and Agri Market App provide farmers with critical information on market rates, weather forecasts, and expert advice.
The integration of smart farming practices enhances agricultural productivity, promotes sustainable agriculture, and ensures food security.
Pillar 8
A Path Towards a Prosperous Future for Indian Farmers
India’s agricultural reforms represent a holistic approach to empowering farmers through:
- Direct Income Support: PM-KISAN.
- Price Assurance: MSP and PM-AASHA.
- Risk Coverage: Crop insurance (PMFBY, RWBCIS) and accessible KCC loans (MISS).
- Infrastructure Support: AIF, RKVY-RAFTAAR, AMI, and irrigation projects (PMKSY).
- Digital Agriculture: Embracing technology for improved productivity and efficiency.
These integrated efforts are crucial for long-term financial stability for farmer families, bolstering national food security, and positioning India’s agricultural sector for sustained growth and global competitiveness. The continuous evolution of these policies reflects a commitment to uplifting the rural economy and fostering a thriving future for farmers.
Innovation & Growth Across the Nation
A visual representation of the comprehensive progress and vibrant future envisioned for India’s agricultural sector.
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