To assess the plight of farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture has decided to carry out a pan-India survey to ascertain their income and indebtedness among other issues for the current crop year (July-June). The last such survey was conducted for the reference year 2012-13 (crop year). Thereafter, the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) has not conducted any such survey.
Besides, the Government plans to launch an index to rank states on the basis of ease of doing agri-business.
In a written reply to Lok Sabha, the Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that the ‘Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households’ will be conducted during the 77th round of the National Sample Survey in the current calendar year. The survey aims to provide a “comprehensive assessment of the situation of agricultural households in the country, including their income, expenditure and indebtedness,” he added.
“...As such, the comparable estimates for rise in income of agricultural households during 2014-2018 are not available,” the minister informed.
Shekhawat further said that the periodicity of such a survey is decided on the basis of requirements of the concerned ministry, adequacy of the current data, availability of resources and manpower, emerging areas of concern and development priorities of the Government.
He also mentioned that given the vastness of the country’s size and resources involved, the NSSO conducts other surveys on household consumer expenditure and employment-unemployment after every five years. The inter-ministerial committee on doubling farmers’ income by 2022 has considered the estimates of agriculture households’ income obtained from the 70th round of NSS survey data as the base level income, he added.
Besides, the government plans to launch an index to rank states on the basis of ease of doing agri-business. Under this, states may soon start receiving extra funding for the Agriculture Ministry’s flagship schemes on the basis of their performance in encouraging agri-business, especially with regard to marketing, land and governance reforms. After India jumped 23 places in the Global Ease of Doing Business ranking of the World Bank last year, the Agriculture Ministry planning to come out with its own index to rank states on ‘ease of doing agri-business’. The Ministry has sent a proposal to this effect on all States and Union Territories. As per the data available agriculture accounts for around 17 per cent of Gross Value Added while it deploys 47 per cent of the work force in the country. The proposed index will help in fostering agriculture among states by promoting a competitive spirit.