The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) released its Year-End Review.

What are the most important projects and goals of MoA&FW?

A record of the production of food grains and plants.

The fourth advance figures show that food grain production reached 315.72 million tonnes in December 2022, the highest amount ever.

Highest-ever Horticulture Production: According to the third advanced figures, horticulture production was 331.05 million tonnes in 2020-21, and it went up to 342.33 million tonnes in 2021-22, which was the highest amount ever.The price of minimum support goes up (MSP)

From 2018-19, the government raised the MSP for all required Kharif, Rabi, and other industrial crops with a return of at least 50% more than the average weighted cost of production in India.There are 14 kharif crops, six rabi crops, and two other market crops that must be grown.Start of the National Mission for Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP)

The government announced the NMEO-OP plan for self-reliance in edible oil in August 2021. However, it will cost more than Rs. 11,000 crores to implement. (over five years).

Through PM KISAN, farmers get help with their income.

In 2019, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) plan was started. This is a scheme to help farmers make more money by giving them Rs. 6000 per year in 3 equal payments.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

In 2016, PMFBY, a crop insurance scheme, was started to help farmers if any reported crops failed because of natural disasters, pests, or diseases. Farmers could get insurance coverage and financial help from the scheme.

Institutional Credit for Agriculture Sector

Animal Husbandry and Fisheries farmers can get short-term working capital through Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) with 4% annual interest. This is to help them meet their short-term working capital needs.

Giving farmers “Soil Health Cards.”

In 2014-2015, the Soil Health Card Scheme was implemented to use minerals best.

There are new rules about how to market biostimulants.

Nano-urea is part of the plan to control fertilizers.Organic farming should be pushed in the country.

In 2015-16, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) started encouraging organic farming in the country.

Farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Jharkhand have started organic growing on both sides of the Ganga as part of the Namami Gange Program. This is to help clean up the river water and give farmers more money.

Through the Bhartiya Prakratik Krishi Padhati program, the government also wants to support natural farming systems that are sustainable in the long run. (BPKP).

The plan’s goal is to lower the cost of farming, increase farmers’ income, protect resources, and ensure that the soil, climate, and food are safe and healthy.

The mission for developing Organic Value Chains in the North East Region (MOVCDNER) has begun. It is a part of the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), and its goal is to grow certified organic production along a value chain.

A New Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification was also started in 2015 to make it easier to get the organic certification at a low cost and in a way that is easy to use.This PGS system is the biggest participatory organic certification program in the world. It is also the only one of its kind.

A website called Jaivikkheti has been set up to help small and marginal farmers sell their organic goods straight to consumers.

Under the Large Area Certification program, there are ways to quickly certify already organic places, like islands, remote areas, and hilly areas.

Sikkim is the first place in the world to be made up of only organic products.

Agri Infrastructure Fund

Since the Agri Infrastructure Fund (AIF) was started, many infrastructures for agriculture have been built, and some of them are almost done.

It is a way to get money to build post-harvest management infrastructure and community farm assets. It will start in July 2020. Benefits include a 3% interest subsidy and credit guarantee help.

National Goals for Beekeeping and Honey (NBHM)

As part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) will start in 2020.

The main goal of NBHM is to promote and develop scientific beekeeping in the country. This is part of the “Sweet Revolution” plan by the National Bee Board. (NBB).

More Crops Per Drop

The Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) plan was started in 2015–16. Its goal is to improve how efficiently water is used on farms by using drip and sprinkler irrigation systems.

Agricultural Mechanization

Agricultural automation is significant for modernizing farming and making farming tasks less laborious.The number of machines and tools that farmers were given for free was also raised. In addition, to help the governments of Punjab, Haryana, U.P, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi deal with air pollution caused by burning crop residue, funds have been given to these States from 2018-19 to 2021-22 for crop residue management through mechanization interventions.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for using drones in pesticide and nutrient applications were released in the public domain after looking into the unique benefits of drone technology in agriculture. These SOPs give clear directions on how to use drones effectively and safely.

In 2022, the Ministry changed the “Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization” (SMAM) plan rules. This was done to make it easier for farmers to use drones.

The funding rules will make this technology more affordable by helping people buy, rent, and show off agriculture drones.

Installation of the E-NAM extension platform

National Agriculture Market (eNAM) is a pan-Indian electronic trading portal that connects the current Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) mandis to make a single national market for agricultural goods.Logistics for farm products are getting better, and Kisan Rail is being put in place.

The Ministry of Railways has started Kisan Rail so that only perishable farming and horticultural goods can move.In July 2020, the first Kisan Rail project began.

The Cluster Development Programme is part of the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).

The Cluster Growth Programme (CDP) is meant to take advantage of the geographical specialization of horticulture clusters and encourage the integrated and market-led growth of pre-production, production, post-harvest, logistics, branding, and marketing activities.

MoA&FW has found 55 horticulture groups, and 12 of them have been chosen for the CDP’s pilot phase.Success in the Export of Agricultural and Allied Agricultural Products

The country has seen a significant rise in agricultural and related goods sales. Agri and allied exports went from 41.86 billion USD in 2020-21 to 50.24 billion USD in 2021-22, a 19.99% rise from the previous year.