The State government has set up a high-level committee, including the Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner, to work towards doubling the income of farmers.
Disclosing this on Monday, Agriculture Minister B.C. Patil told reporters that in an effort to double farmers’ income, a programme to improve agricultural practices has been taken up at a cost of ₹7,234 crore. He said that over the next two years, comprehensive agricultural practices would be implemented in all gram panchayats of the State. “A meeting chaired by the Chief Minister also saw discussions on strategies to double farmers’ income,” he said.
He said that as against the target of sowing 77 lakh hectares for the kharif season, the State had covered 77.20 lakh hectares, while 28.34 lakh tonnes of fertiliser had been sold, against the demand for 26.47 lakh tonnes. He also said that 35.41 lakh tonnes were stocked in the State. Meanwhile, 12.8 lakh farmers have opted for crop insurance. “During 2020-21, the State produced 158.73 lakh tonnes of foodgrains — a 10% increase over the previous year. The national average increase was 2%,” the Minister said.
He also said that between April 1 and September 30, the quality control squads in the Agriculture Department had seized 1,394 quintals of sowing seeds, 8,039 tonnes of fertiliser, and about 10,000 kg of insecticide. “Crops on nearly 88% of the agricultural land have been surveyed for pre-and post-monsoon crops,” he said.
