Cabinet Approves ₹13,966 Crore Plan to Boost Farmers' Incomes

New Delhi- The cabinet on Septemeber 2 approved a comprehensive plan of Rs 13,966 crore for improving farmers' lives and increasing their incomes. The Digital Agriculture Mission will use technology to improve farmers' lives, including soil profile, digital crop estimation, digital yield modelling, crop loan connection, and modern technologies like AI and Big Data.

The Union Cabinet approved the following schemes under the plan.

- Digital Agriculture Mission: The mission will use technology to improve farmers' lives. The mission has a total outlay of Rs 2.817 crores. It comprises two foundational pillars. 1. Agri Stack, Farmers registry, Village land maps registry, Crop Sown Registry 2. Krishi Decision Support System, Geospatial data, Drought/flood monitoring, Weather/satellite data, Groundwater/water availability data, Modelling for crop yield and insurance.

- Crop science for food and nutritional security: The initiative aims to prepare farmers for climate resilience and provide food security by 2047. Crop science for food and nutritional security has a total outlay of Rs 3,979 crore. It will focus on research and education, plant genetic resource management, genetic improvement for food and fodder crops, improvement of commercial crops, and research on insects, microbes, pollinators, etc.

- Strengthening Agricultural Education, Management, and Social Sciences: The measure will help in preparing agriculture students and researchers for the current challenges by using the latest technology. The initiative will also include research on natural farming and climate resilience. With a total outlay of Rs 2,291 Crore, the measure will prepare agriculture students and researchers for current challenges.

- Sustainable livestock health and production: The decision aims to increase farmers' income from livestock and dairy. The mission will focus on animal health management and veterinary education, dairy production and technology development, animal genetic resource management, production, and improvement. Sustainable livestock health and production has a total outlay of Rs 1,702 crore.

- Sustainable development of horticulture: The measure is aimed at increasing farmers' income from horticulture plants. It will include tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate horticulture crops, as well as vegetable, floriculture, and mushroom crops. The initiative has a total outlay of Rs 13,966 Crore.

- Strengthening of Krishi Vigyan Kendra with an outlay of Rs 1,202 Cr