The NITI Aayog chief executive officer Amitabh Kant has assured farmers of brining more crops under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), including commercial crops like sugarcane. But he set a rider that this would be possible if the quantum of water consumed was reduced in sugarcane cultivation.
He was speaking at the State-level farmers’ convention organised by the Karnataka State Sugarcane Cultivators’ Association and Federation of Farmers here on Tuesday.
Responding to the farmers’ demand of including sugarcane under the PMFBY, Mr. Kant said he would discuss the issue with the officials concerned in the Ministry of Agriculture on a priority basis. However, he added that sugarcane can be brought under the purview of the scheme provided there was a progressive decline in the use of water in cultivation of the crop.
Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar pointed out that 30 per cent of the sugarcane cultivators in the state had already switched to drip irrigation and promised to increase this to 75 per cent within the next two years. The NITI Aayog chief said that the government would extend all assistance to them in their efforts to adapt to new technology to conserve water. Banana cultivation and sericulture would also be considered for the crop insurance scheme under the PMFBY, he added.
Mr. Kant said transformation of India was not possible without transforming agriculture which was the most important sector of India, employing 49 per cent of the working population. He said there were challenges in agriculture with the output per hectare being low compared to other countries.
He attributed this to poor access to modern technology and faulty inputs while there were issues of poor remunerative prices to farmers. He said farming should be a viable commercial activity if India was to growth 9 to 10 per cent per annum for 3 decades and create jobs and this called for greater levels of efficiency in agriculture.
More than 400 farmers from across the State, Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) Director Ram Rajashekaran and others were present.
Earlier, the farmers submitted a memorandum to Mr. Kant drawing his attention to the crisis plaguing sugarcane cultivators and wanted the fair and remunerative price to be increased from Rs. 2,300 to Rs. 3,000, apart from revoking the state government VAT on fertilizers.
