BHUBANESWAR: The average monthly income of an agricultural household in Odisha is the second-lowest - after Jharkhand - in the country. Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that a farmer family in Odisha earned Rs 5,112 per month from July 2018 to June 2019. With an average monthly income of Rs 4,895 Jharkhand is at the bottom, while Meghalaya tops the list with Rs 29,348. Bihar farmers earned more than their Odisha counterparts at Rs 7,542 per month during the period.
In a written reply to an unstarred question by Congress MP from Koraput Saptagiri Ulaka, the Union Agriculture Minister quoted the NSO survey on ‘Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households’ conducted from January 2019 to December 2019 and stated that the average monthly paid out expenditure for crop production in Odisha was more as compared to 10 states where monthly income of farmers was more than that of the coastal State.
The average monthly paid out expenditure was Rs 1,587 for crop production and Rs 392 for farming of animals in the State from July 2018 to June 2019. Similarly, the monthly paid out expenditure for crop was the highest Rs 11,277 in Punjab, followed by Rs 11,190 in Haryana. It was much lesser in Meghalaya at Rs 2,293.Tomar said the Centre had constituted an inter-ministerial Committee in April, 2016 to examine issues relating to ‘Doubling of Farmers Income’ and recommend strategies to achieve the same.
As per the recommendations of the panel containing the strategy for doubling of farmers’ income by 2022, the government has constituted an ‘empowered body’ to review and monitor the progress, he added.The NSO survey had revealed that the average monthly income of farmers in Odisha came down to Rs 5,112 from a range of Rs 7,731 in 2015-16.
Interestingly, the State Government has claimed to have doubled farmer’s income. Besides, financial assistance was extended to small and marginal farmers under the State-sponsored KALIA scheme (introduced in December 2018) but the average monthly income of farmers has dropped by around 35 per cent. The monthly income of farmers had peaked up to Rs 7,731 in 2015-16 from Rs 1,062 in 2002-03.
At the bottom
Farmers in Odisha earned Rs 5,112 per month from July 2018 to June 2019
Farmers in Bihar earned more than their Odisha counterparts
Monthly paid out expenditure in the State was more compared to 10 states
Monthly income of farmers in Odisha came down to Rs 5,112 from Rs 7,731 in 2015-16