With farmer organisations taking to streets across the country and opposition parties promising waiver of farm loans ahead of the general elections, the Centre is understood to have taken a cue from the Odisha Government KALIA scheme to find a way to boost farmers’ income and to come out of the hostile situation as well.
The Union Government is now contemplating to launch a scheme alike the KALIA scheme nationwide.
According to sources, officers of Agriculture Ministry have been asked to study the KALIA scheme from different angles and draft a new scheme under which benefits would be transferred directly to banck accounts of small and marginal farmers and landless agricultural households well before beginning of the election process.
Notably, the Odisha Government has launched the KALIA scheme, with an expenditure layout of Rs 10,800 crore for three years, to help out small, marginal farmers and landless households. While the Government has stated that 92 per cent of the farmers would be benefitted by the scheme, first phase of application submission is already underway.
Under the scheme, a small farmer is a cultivator who owns 2.5 to 5 acres of arable land and a marginal farmer is one who owns less than 2.5 acres of cultivable land.
Financial aid of Rs 25,000 per farm family over five seasons will be provided to small and marginal farmers so that they can purchase seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and use assistance towards labour. Similarly, financial assistance of Rs 12,500 will be provided to each landless agricultural household for agricultural allied activities such as goat rearing, small layer poultry units, duckery units, mushroom cultivation, beekeeping etc.
Vulnerable cultivators and landless agricultural labourers will get financial assistance of Rs 10,000 per family per year to enable them to take care of their sustenance. The cultivator and landless agricultural labourers who are elderly, having disability or disease and are vulnerable for any reason will benefit from the scheme.