Government seeking permanent solutions for farmers’ distress: Kovind

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday thanked Indian farmers and said that his government was striving to attain the goal of doubling their income and find permanent solutions to their problems.

Addressing Parliament’s budget session today, Kovind said despite facing hardships due to the weather, the farmers of our country had toiled day and night to produce record food grain harvests. The Modi government has been trying to understand farm distress and provide better facilities and assistance to farmers for the entire spectrum of agriculture activities.

He outlined the achievements of the Modi government and said the government had taken the historic decision of fixing the minimum support price (MSP) of 22 crops at one-and-a-half times than their production cost. In addition, it is being ensured that good quality seeds are made available to farmers.

Kovind said crop insurance is being provided to farmers at a low premium under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’ to safeguard them from potential crises due to crop damage. A campaign has been launched to link online more than 1,500 mandis to facilitate market access to farmers. Cold storage capacities are being increased at a rapid pace to minimise crop damage from the field to the market and to ensure proper storage. The ‘Waste to Wealth’ campaign is being implemented to ensure that farmers generate additional income out of the crop residue from their field.

The president also informed that during the NDA government’s tenure more than 17 crore Soil Health Cards had been distributed and 100% neem-coating of urea had been accomplished to facilitate its availability and to prevent its misuse. Besides, 99 incomplete old irrigation projects have been undertaken on priority so that farmers do not face any hurdle in irrigation. Of these, 71 will be completed in the next few months. Micro-irrigation is also being promoted by the government to ensure full utilization of every drop of water.