Taking note of shrinking farm sizes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said there is a need to increase the "collective power" of small farmers -- who account for more than 80 per cent of the farming community -- with new facilities in the coming years. And emphasising that malnutrition is a “hurdle” in the development of women and children, PM Modi announced that the Government will fortify the rice distributed to the poor via different schemes such as Midday Meal by 2024 in a bid to address the problem of malnutrition.
The announcement is significant as the Government distributes over 300 lakh tonnes of rice under various schemes covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. The Centre has allocated 328 lakh tonnes of rice for various schemes under NFSA during 2021-22.
Addressing the nation from the Red Fort on the 75th Independence Day, the PM said small farmers have less than two hectares of land. Additionally, farm holdings are getting smaller and smaller in villages with rise in population and division in families. Asserting that his dream is to make small farmers the pride of the country, the Prime Minister said, "In the coming years, we will have to increase the collective power of the small farmers of the country. They have to be given new facilities."
"Chota Kisan bane desh ki shaan! It is our dream, our mantra that small farmers become the pride of the country," he asserted. The government will run a campaign to set up warehouse facilities at the block level, he said. Stressing on the need to focus on major challenges facing the agriculture sector, the Prime Minister said, "One challenge is the shrinking farm sizes in villages." More than 80 per cent of the farmers in the country have less than two hectares of land, but the earlier policies did not focus on small farmers, he said.
Be it reforms in Fasal Bima Yojana, increasing the minimum support price (MSP) by 1.5 times (the cost of production), linking farmers with Kisan Credit Card (KCC) for cheaper farm loans, taking solar power schemes till farm land or setting up of Farmer Producers Organisations (FPOs), all these efforts will strengthen small farmers, he added. Also, keeping farmers' small expenses in mind, Modi said the government is implementing the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) under which more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore has been transferred to the bank accounts of over 10 crore farmers.
Modi also announced that, “Raashan kee dukaan par milane vaala chaaval ho, Mid-Day-Meal mein baalakon ko milane vaala chaaval ho, varsh 2024 tak har yojana ke maadhyam se milane vaala chaaval fortified kar diya jaayega. (Be it the rice distributed through ration shops or the rice provided to children in the mid-day meal, the rice available through every scheme will be fortified by the year 2024.)” The Prime Minister said it is the government’s priority to provide nutrition to every poor person of the country. “Malnutrition is a big hurdle in the development of women and children. In view of this, it has been decided to fortify the rice distributed under the different schemes…,” the Prime Minister said.