Report on roadmap to double farmers' income by Sept: Govt

An inter-ministerial panel, which has been mandated to recommend a roadmap to double farmers' income by 2020, will submit the report by September, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Friday. Highlighting measures taken to boost farm output and farmers income, the Minister said in Rajya Sabha more funds have been allocated under various schemes like PMKSY and hence there are no plans for a separate

agriculture budget. On the progress made in implementation of electronic national agriculture market (e-NAM), he said so far 23 mandis in eight states have been integrated and a total 200 mandis would be brought to the online platform by September. "By 2020, we want to double farmers' income. In April, an inter-ministerial committee was set up to study and recommend a roadmap for doubling the income of farmers. The committee will submit the first report by September," Singh said in the Upper House during Question Hour. The broad mandate of the panel is to study the current income level of farmers/agri-labourers, measure the historical growth rate of current income level and determine the required growth rate to double the income of farmers. The panel will not only recommend various strategies to be adopted to accomplish the target but also suggest an institutional mechanism to review and monitor implementation of the realised goal, he added. "The committee has begun its work and the approach adopted is that it shall work as a dynamic committee. It shall suggest interventions to be made on a continuous basis begining with the 2016 kharif itself," Singh noted. The Ministry is aware that in order to double farmers' income over the period of six years 2016-17 to 2021-22, in real terms the desired compound annual growth will have to be much higher than that achieved so far. The committee will recommend the desired growth rate, he added. Singh also said that the government is aiming to reorient agriculture sector by shifting the approach from pure production-centeredness to farmers' income-centeredness.