India needs a whopping investment of Rs 6,399 billion for doubling farmers’ real income by 2022-23. Of these, Rs 5,080.8 billion is required from public sector and Rs 1,318.4 billion from private sector for all the major States, an inter-ministerial committee on doubling farmers’ income said in its report.
According to Census 2011, there are 118.9 million cultivators across the country. In other words, 24.6 per cent of the total workforce of over 481 million and 80 per cent of the cultivators are small and marginal farmers. Presently, the average income of an agricultural household is estimated to be Rs 6,426 per month as against an average its monthly consumption expenditure of Rs 6,223.
Headed by Ashok Dalwai, the inter-ministerial committee was set up in April last year. The first four volumes of the report have been released for public comment. The remaining eight volumes are yet to be released. With the Government continuing to play a key role in farm sector development, the committee said, “By 2022-23, the private investment should increase by nearly two times while public investment should increase by four times.”
According to report, at present public investment is below national average in the States like Assam, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Punjab and Odisha. less developed States in the eastern region continue to lag behind in private investment, suggesting an urgent need to develop financial and other infrastructure.
To ensure 10.41 per cent annual increase in farmers’ income, 7.86 per cent investment per annum from private sector is needed. Similarly, 14.17 per cent annual investment from the public sector in agriculture, irrigation, rural roads and transport and rural energy is required to boost farmers’ income at the rate of 10.41 per cent annually.
The report said that Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh may require relatively higher amounts of private capital at Rs 47.87 billion, Rs 98.79 billion, Rs 62.75 billion, Rs 51.91 billion, Rs 56.07 billion and Rs 146.65 billion, respectively. Similarly, capital requirements on public account are found to be much higher in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the poorer and agriculture-dominant States, viz., Jammu &Kashmir, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, at close to Rs 100 billion in each.
“Between 1995-96 and 2010-11, the average farm size declined from 1.41 hectares to 1.15 hectares. Smallholders now cultivate 42 per cent of operated land and constitute 83 per cent of total landholdings “This increase is most prominent in the case of marginal and small farms. However, a decline in the number of holdings with medium and large farms is noticed over the period which is a matter of concern. Fragmented and scattered holdings do not allow better utilisation of farm resources and technology adoption by the farmers as a result reduces the productivity,” the report said.
“As many as 22.50 per cent of the farmers live below official poverty line. India’s yield averages for most crops at global level do not compare favourably. The costs of cultivation are rising. The magnitude of food loss and food waste is alarming. The markets do not assure the farmer of remunerative returns on his produce,” the committee said.
The average income of the farmer is targeted to be increased from Rs 96,703 in 2015-16 to Rs 2,19,724 in 2022-23 (current prices). “The share of income derived from crop cultivation is relatively higher in Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The States with low farmers’ income are Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The income from farming of animals occupies larger share in Haryana, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and West Bengal are on the bottom in this category,”the report said.