By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi released the next installment of financial benefit under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) today through video conference. The Prime Minister also interacted with farmer beneficiaries during the event. This enabled the transfer of an amount of more than Rs. 19,500 crores to more than 9.75 crores beneficiary farmer families. It was the 9th installment of the financial benefit under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN).
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister talked of the sowing season and expressed the hope that the amount received today will help the farmers. He also mentioned that the scheme of Kisan Infrastructure Fund with 1 lakh crore rupees corpus also completes one year today. The Prime Minister touched upon initiatives like Mission Honey-Bee and making saffron from Jammu & Kashmir in the NAFED shops. Honey mission has led to 700 crore export of honey resulting in extra income for farmers.
Referring to the upcoming 75th Independence day, he said that apart from being an occasion for pride it is also an opportunity for new resolutions. We have to take this opportunity to decide where we want to see India in the coming 25 years, he said. The Prime Minister remarked that our agriculture and our farmers have a big role in determining the condition of India in 2047, when the country completes 100 years of independence. It is time to give direction to India’s agriculture to face new challenges and take advantage of new opportunities. He called for changes in the Indian agriculture according to the demands of changing times
He lauded the farmers for record production during the pandemic and outlined the government’s measures to reduce the hardships of farmers during the difficult period. The Government ensured uninterrupted supply of seeds, fertilizers and access to markets. Urea was available throughout and when prices of DAP increased manifold in the international market, the government immediately arranged 12000 crore rupees for that so that the load is not felt by the farmers.
The Prime Minister said the government has made the biggest ever purchase from farmers at MSP, be it Kharif or Rabi season. With this, about Rs 1,70,000 crore have reached directly into the accounts of rice farmers and about Rs. 85,000 crore have gone directly into the account of wheat farmers.
The Prime Minister reminded that he urged the farmers to increase the production of pulses, when there was a shortage of pulses in the country, a few years ago. He said that as a result, there has been an increase of almost 50 percent in the production of pulses in the country in the last 6 years.
The Prime Minister highlighted National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm i.e. NMEO-OP as a pledge for achieving self-reliance in edible oil. Today, when the country is remembering the Quit India Movement, on this historic day, this resolve fills us with new energy, he said. He said that through the National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm mission, more than Rs 11,000 crore will be invested in the cooking oil ecosystem. Government will ensure that farmers get all the facilities, from quality seeds to technology. The Prime Minister pointed out that today, for the first time, India has reached among the top-10 countries of the world in terms of agricultural exports. The country has set new records of agricultural exports during the Corona period.
Today, when India is becoming recognized as a big agricultural exporting country, it is not right to stay dependent on imports for our needs of edible oil.
The Prime Minister remarked that the small farmers are now being given utmost priority in the agricultural policies of the country. With this spirit, in the last few years, serious efforts were being made to provide convenience and security to these small farmers. Under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, Rs 1 lakh 60 crore has been given to farmers so far.
Out which Rs 1 lakh crore were transferred to small farmers during the pandemic period. More than 2 crore Kisan Credit Cards were issued during Corona persion, most of them to small farmers. Such farmers will be benefitted by the agriculture infrastructure and connectivity infrastructure that is coming up in the country. Initiatives like Food Parks, Kisan Rails and Infrastructure Fund will help small farmers. In the year gone by, more than 6 thousand projects have been approved under the Infrastructure Fund. These steps increase the small farmer’s access to market and his bargaining power through FPOs, said the Prime Minister.
