The Budget allocation for Ministry of Agriculture & FW has been increased to Rs. 1,24,000 crore in 2022-23.
Food grain production has increased from 308.65 million tonnes in January 2022 to 315.72 million tonnes in December 2022 (as per 4th advance estimates) which is the highest ever food grain production. As per third advanced estimates, horticulture production during 2020-21 was 331.05 million MT which is increased to 342.33 million MT during 2021-22. It is the highest ever production for Indian horticulture.
For the cropping year 2020-21, the Government through its Nodal Agencies procured 12,11,619.39 MT of Pulses and Oilseeds having MSP value of Rs.6,830.18 Crores benefitting 7,06,552 farmers whereas in the year 2021-22, a quantity of 31,08,941.96 MT of pulses, oilseeds and copra having MSP value of Rs. 17,093.13 crore benefiting 14,68,699 farmers has been done. Further, under procurement of Kharif 2021-22 season, a quantity of 2,24,282.01 MT of Pulses and Oilseeds having MSP vale of Rs. 1380.17 Crores benefiting 1,37,788 farmers was procured till January, 2022 whereas, under procurement of Kharif 2022-23 season, a quantity of 1,03,830.50 MT of pulses, oilseeds & copra having MSP Value of Rs. 915.79 crore benefiting 61,339 farmers has been procured till December, 2022.
Soil Health Card Scheme was introduced in the year 2014-15 to optimize usage of nutrients. The following number of cards have been issued to farmers.
Regulations for promotion of biostimulants is issued. Nano urea is included under fertilizer control order.
Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme launched during 2015-16 which aims to increase water use efficiency at the farm level through Micro Irrigation technologies i.e. drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. Upto January, 2022, an area of 60 lakh hectare has been covered which increased to 69.55 lakh hectare in December, 2022 under Micro irrigation through PDMC scheme.
A Micro Irrigation Fund of initial corpus Rs 5000 crore has been created with NABARD. In the Budget Announcement for 2021-22, the corpus of the fund is to be increased to Rs.10000 crores. Upto January, 2022, projects worth Rs 3970.17 crore covering 12.83 lakh hectares were approved whereas till December, 2022 projects worth 4710.96 crore covering 17.09 lakh hectares have been approved.
Kisan Rail has been launched by Ministry of Railways to exclusively cater to movement of perishable agrihorti commodities. First Kisan Rail was started in July 2020. Upto January, 2022, 1900 services on 155 routes were operated which were increased to 2359 services on 167 routes in December, 2022.
The Cluster Development Programme (CDP) is designed to leverage geographical specialisation of horticulture clusters and promote integrated and market-led development of pre-production, production, post-harvest, logistics, branding, and marketing activities. MoA&FW has identified 55 horticulture clusters, of which 12 have been selected for the pilot phase of the CDP. On the recommendation of State Government, Cluster Development Agencies have been appointed for all the clusters. Cluster Gap Assessment Report of all 12 clusters have been finalised. Expressions of Interest (EOIs) have been floated for all 12 clusters for selecting Implementing Agencies (IAs) for implementation of the programme and in this regard, the application window is opened for uploading their proposals.
22. Achievement in Export of Agri and Allied Agri- Commodities
The country has witnessed emphatic growth in export of agri and allied commodities. As compared to previous year 2020-21, the Agri and allied export has increased from 41.86 billion USD in 2020-21 to 50.24 billion USD in 2021-22 i.e. an increase of 19.99%.
The major commodities which posted significant growth as compared to previous year have been Wheat 273.54% (567.93 to 2121.46 Million USD), Other than Basmati Rice 27.29% (4810.80 to 6123.82 Million USD), Cotton raw including waste 48.43% (1897.21 to 2816.24 Million USD), Castor Oil 28.16% (917.24 to 1175.51 Million USD), Other cereals 53.82% (705.38 to 1085.05 Million USD), Coffee 41.84% (719.66 to 1020.74 Million USD), Fresh Fruits 14.11% (768.54 to 876.96 Million USD).
The export of Agri and allied commodities during in April-October, 2022 was 30.21 billion USD to 26.98 billion USD in the same period of 2021-22 i.e. an increase of 11%.