Union Agriculture Minister says if the Small Farmers will be empowered, it will boost India’s GDP

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar today said if the Small Farmers will be empowered, it will boost India’s GDP. Speaking at an event after launching the Kisan Tak channel and its website of the India Today Group in New Delhi, he said that Small Farmers constitute 85% of the farming community and they face the challenge of lack of private investment. Farming is the backbone of India’s economy and the farm ecosystem is the main pillar of Indian economy, he added.

Shri Tomar said that the Central Government has undertaken an ambitious programme of forming 10,000 Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) with an outlay of Rs.6,865 crore to boost the economic capacity of the Small Farmers. While in the plains, 300 farmers can form an FPO, in the Hilly and North-Eastern Region 100 farmers can join to form an FPO. The FPOs can have a bargaining power to have new technologies, improved fertilizers and quality seeds as well as equipment and can add productivity through cluster farming.

Shri Tomar said that Rs.1,50,000 crore of Atmanirbhar package has been earmarked for the farmers including Rs.15,000 crore for Horticulture, Rs.20,000 crore for Fisheries, Rs.4,000 crore for Herbal Agriculture and Rs.10,000 crore for Food Processing Industries.

The Agriculture Minister said that in 2013-14 the Agriculture Budget was Rs.21,000 crore, which has been increased by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Government to Rs.1,25,000 crore at present. He informed that Rs.2,40,000 crore has been disbursed through PM Kisan Samman to 11.5 crore farmers.