Budget 2017 brings nine gifts for farmers

NEW DELHI: As widely expected, Budget 2017 deploys a large chunk of funds to the agriculture sector. Agriculture and rural sectors have been granted Rs 1, 87,223 crore in 2017-18, which is 24 per cent higher from the previous Budget.

Below are the nine Budgetary measures to promote agriculture:

1. Target for agricultural credit in 2017-18 has been fixed at a record level of Rs. 10 lakh crore.

2. To ensure flow of credit to small farmers, government to support NABARD for computerisation and integration of all 63,000 functional Primary
Agriculture Credit Societies with the Core Banking System of District Central Cooperative Banks. This will be done in three years at an estimated
cost of Rs. 1,900 crore.

3. Coverage under Fasal Bima Yojana scheme will be increased from 30% of cropped area in 2016-17 to 40% in 2017-18 and 50% in 2018-19 for which a
budget provision of Rs. 9,000 crore has been made.

4. New mini labs in Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) will be set up. Government will ensure 100% coverage of all 648 KVKs in the country for soil-sample testing.

5. The Long Term Irrigation Fund already set up in NABARD to be augmented by 100% to take the total corpus of this Fund to Rs. 40,000 crore.

6. Dedicated Micro Irrigation Fund in NABARD to achieve ‘per drop more crop’ with an initial corpus of Rs. 5,000 crore,

7. Coverage of National Agricultural Market (e-NAM) to be expanded from 250 markets to 585 APMCs. Assistance up to Rs. 75 lakh will be provided to
every e-NAM.

8. A model law on contract farming to be prepared and circulated among the states for adoption.

9. Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund to be set up in NABARD with a corpus of Rs. 2,000 crore which will be increased to Rs. 8,000
crore over three years.