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Agriculture will be the prime focus of
Eleventh Five year Plans
New Delhi, November 08, 2006
The Union Government has accorded high priority to revitalization of the
agriculture sector to bring improvement in the condition of farmers through the
National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the UPA Government. The various
initiatives taken by the Government had a positive impact and the agriculture
and allied sectors witnessed a growth of 3.9% during 2005-06. As per the latest
estimates of the CSO, during the first quarter of 2006-07, the sector has
witnessed a growth of 3.4%.
The prices of wheat & pulses have increased disproportionately during the
current year. To ensure lower prices for consumers, the Government has allowed
imports of wheat & pulses at zero duty and reduced import duties on edible oils
to make certain that our future requirements of foodgrains are substantially
met.
There is also a substantial enhancement in the productivity to meet the need
for developing technologies and convince farmers to utilize less water & rice
production without compromising on returns. Since rice grown under irrigated
conditions is facing the threat of water shortage, a paradigm shift towards
maximizing output per unit of water instead of per unit of land is required.
Even though agriculture is the main stay of our economy, this primary sector
has been under considerable stress over the past several years due to a complex
set of factors which include lack of adequate public investment, small holdings,
low productivity, infrastructure inadequacy and lack of adequate institutional
credit cover including risk mitigation measures.
To strengthen infrastructure, investment has been stepped up, particularly in
the case of irrigation, marketing and water shed development.
Credit availability has also been substantially increased. During the current
year, i.e. 2006-07 the target of agricultural credit flow has been fixed at Rs.
1, 75,000 crore. By September, 2006 credit flow was Rs. 94, 345.54 crore forming
53.91% of the target.
To mitigate the distress of farmers, government has decided to launch a
special rehabilitation package in 31 districts in the states of Maharashtra ,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. It aims at establishing a sustainable and
viable farming and livelihood support system through debt relief to farmers,
improved supply of institutional credit, crop centric approach to agriculture,
assured irrigation facilities, water shed management, better extension and
farming support services, improved marketing facilities and subsidiary income
opportunities through horticulture, livestock, dairying and fisheries. All
together the rehabilitation package for the four states would require Rs. 16,
978.69 crore, consisting of Rs. 10,579.43 crore as subsidy/grants and Rs.
6,399.26 crore as loan.
To achieve the objectives of the National Common Minimum Programme, the
scheme of Livestock Insurance was initiated in 2004-05 with the aim of providing
relief to farmers in case of death of their cattle and buffaloes. In regard to
fisheries, an integrated approach designed to promote sustainable aquaculture
practices has been envisaged.
In order to provide relief to the poultry industry which was affected by Bird
Flu, the Government and Reserve bank of India announced a package of measures by
way of release of maize to various States at concessional rate.
The Hon'ble Prime Minister has stressed that agriculture must be one of the
central elements of the planning efforts in the Eleventh Five Year Plan.
Observing the present state of agriculture performance, he has stressed the need
for injecting fresh dynamism into agriculture in order to achieve the
inclusiveness which the Government seeks in the overall growth profile
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