Several Long-Pending Issues Of Farmers Adressed, Says Agri Minister In Parliament

New Delhi, Feb 4 (KNN) The government has held seven rounds of discussions with farmers’ unions since February 2024 and has addressed several long-pending issues through sustained dialogue, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan informed, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Dialogue With Farmers’ Unions

The Minister said that since the repeal of the three farm laws in 2021, the government has engaged closely with farmer groups, including the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM).

Through sustained dialogue, issues such as the Electricity Amendment Bill, national commissions for spices, protection of tribal rights, stricter action against fake agri inputs, and rationalisation of penalties for paddy-straw burning have been addressed.

Agriculture and Free Trade Agreements

The Minister said that India is a net agricultural exporter, and negotiations on Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are undertaken only after safeguarding the interests of Indian agriculture, allied sectors and farmers, including small and marginal farmers.

Adequate safeguards are built into FTAs to protect sensitive sectors such as agriculture and dairy from unfair competition.

Rural Employment and Farm Incomes

As per the reply by the Minister, concerns over rural employment and farm incomes are being addressed through the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Grameen), which raises guaranteed work from 100 to 125 days per rural household, with unemployment allowance if work is not provided.

States are also empowered to pause works for up to 60 days during peak sowing and harvesting to ensure labour availability for agriculture, it added.

Credit Support and Financial Inclusion

The Minister highlighted that the government is ensuring timely and affordable credit through enhanced agriculture credit targets, priority sector lending, Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs), interest subvention, increased collateral-free loan limits, KCC saturation drives and strengthening of rural financial institutions.

MSP, Procurement and Crop Diversification

To ensure remunerative prices, Minimum Support Prices (MSP) are fixed at 1.5 times the cost of production for 22 crops, supported by record procurement. The government is also procuring Tur, Urad and Masoor under the Pulses Atmanirbharta Mission, and cotton under the Cotton Mission, through NAFED and NCCF from pre-registered farmers.

Market access and income realisation are being strengthened through the Central Sector Scheme for Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs.

Post-harvest and marketing infrastructure is also being expanded under schemes such as the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) to prevent distress sales.

Digital Platforms and Farmer Outreach

The Minister added that the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) digital price discovery platform is operational across 23 States and 4 Union Territories, enabling farmers to make informed marketing decisions.

To strengthen farmers’ trust, the government is engaging regularly through initiatives such as Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan, field visits and meetings with farmers’ organisations.

(KNN Bureau)