- Approval of Seven Schemes:
- The government approved seven major schemes with an outlay of ₹14,235 crore to enhance farmers’ lives and livelihoods, covering digital agriculture, crop science, livestock health, and more.
- Key Schemes Introduced:
- Digital Agriculture Mission for precision farming.
- Focus on crop science to ensure food and nutritional security.
- Strengthening Agricultural Education to improve policy-making and rural infrastructure.
- Emphasis on livestock health and sustainable horticulture development.
- Enhancement of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) for technology dissemination.
- Sustainable management of natural resources.
- Current Agricultural Challenges:
- 65% of India’s population lives in rural areas; 47% depend on agriculture.
- Farmers’ average monthly income was ₹10,218 in 2018-19.
- Issues include outdated technology, limited mechanization (only 47%), low R&D investment (0.4% of agri-GDP), and restricted access to credit.
- Natural Resource Management Issues:
- Challenges include soil degradation, overuse of fertilizers, water scarcity, and inefficient water use in rainfed agriculture.
- Supply Chain and Export Barriers:
- Inadequate infrastructure leads to a 30-35% loss in fruits and vegetables.
- Non-tariff barriers affect exports, and productivity remains low (e.g., rice yield is 2.85 t/ha compared to 4.7 t/ha in China).
- Leveraging Technology:
- The Digital Agriculture Mission aims to optimize land use, provide weather forecasting, and promote precision farming to reduce yield losses.
- Special Focus on Sub-sectors:
- Emphasis on livestock and horticulture for higher productivity and sustainability, with dairy and genetic resource management.
- Recommendations from Ashok Dalwai Committee:
- Encourage professional service providers for farm operations.
- Promote secondary agriculture for value addition and enhance agro-logistics.
- Expand agriculture’s mandate to support industrial raw material needs.
- Sector Diversification:
- Shift focus from traditional crops like cereals to nutri-cereals, fruits, vegetables, and proteins, aiming for a diversified agricultural approach including dairy, fisheries, and horticulture.