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BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to enhance the livelihood security of farmers and maintain sustainable development of agriculture, the BJP government on Thursday increased the allocation for agriculture and allied sectors by nearly 37 per cent.
Presenting the 2024-25 budget, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said his government’s top priority is ‘Annadata’. Agriculture is the single largest employment sector and holds the key to socio-economic development of the state. This sector employs 45.8 per cent of the total workforce and contributes 22.5 per cent to the Gross State Value Added (GSVA).
“I propose to increase the allocation under agriculture and allied sectors by more than 36 per cent from Rs 24,829 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 33,919 crore in 2024-25,” Majhi said.
Launching the ‘Samrudh Krushak Yojana’ to extend adequate financial support to farmers, the state government has made provision of Rs 5,000 crore for the scheme in the current fiscal. The scheme will take care of the additional financial needs to meet the promised bonus of Rs 800 per quintal to farmers over and above the minimum support price of Rs 2,300 per quintal of paddy.
Apparently to continue the income support assistance to farmers as provided by the previous BJD government under the KALIA scheme, the chief minister said his government will provide additional top-up under CM-Kisan in addition to Rs 6,000 provided under PM-Kisan per annum. A provision of Rs 1,935 crore has been made under CM-Kisan.
“We have taken steps to include farmers of both rural and urban areas of the state, irrespective of land holdings to avail financial assistance of Rs 6,000 per annum under PM-Kisan scheme as per the central guidelines,” said Majhi.
However, it is not clear if all the 64.79 lakh KALIA beneficiaries will be covered under CM-Kisan. Over 45.67 lakh small and marginal farmers and 19.12 lakh landless farmers were beneficiaries under KALIA. Around 29.73 lakh farmers are PM-Kisan beneficiaries.
Announcing that all Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) and Large Size Adivasi Multi-Purpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPS) will be upgraded into ‘one-stop shop’, Majhi said one model PACS will be developed in each sub-division and the model will be rolled out to remaining PACS.
“Banking services provided by primary societies to their members will be upgraded and these organisations will be converted into mini-banks. All rural families will be brought under their ambit through a massive membership drive so that these services can be provided to all rural households,” he said.
Assuring his government’s commitment to the farmers, the chief minister recalled great scientist MS Swaminathan who said if agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right.
