Budget 2016: Farmers welcome focus on expansion of irrigation

NEW DELHI: Industry and farmer bodies have welcomed the budget's focus on expansion of irrigation across the country, which is likely to irrigate an additional lakh hectares.

Currently, over 60 % of the total 142 million hectares of farm land in the country is not covered under irrigation.

“This will be a boost to the farmers and agriculture production. It’s a sad situation that farmers still are dependent on rains,” said HP Singh, director, Jain irrigation.

The former horticulture director from the Agriculture ministry said that in 2003, the government had targeted to at least get 30 million hectare under micro irrigation. “We have only reached 7 million hectare,” he said.

Singh was however confident that more states were realizing that agriculture land area was being lost due to floods. “We need to move to pipeline systems and this is being promoted by Gujarat and no even by Punjab,” he said.

Government has earmarked Rs 86,500 crore for irrigation under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichaai Yojana. Total allocation for agriculture for the coming fiscal is to be Rs 35,984 crore. Further the government has said that 89 irrigation projects are to be fast tracked by the on a priority. Out of this 30 projects are to be completed by 2017.

Sunita Narain said that the focus on irrigation, MNREGA, crop insurance was important. “Now the need is implementation for assets that work,” she said.

Reacting to the news Jain Irrigation sector spiked up in trade by 5 per cent quoting Rs 58.45 by noon.