Agriculture and Environment Initiatives

During the Budget speech Union finance Minister announced multiple schemes towards Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

Key initiatives –

• PM PRANAM (Prime Minister Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth) —
  • This programme will seek to incentivise states and union territories to promote alternative fertilisers and the balanced use of chemical fertilisers.
• Bharatiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-Input Resource Centres —
  • Under this 10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres will be set up, creating a national-level distributed micro-fertiliser and pesticide manufacturing network.
  • This will impact over 1 crore farmers over the next three years.
• Agriculture Accelerator Fund —
  • The Fund will aim at bringing innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers.
  • It will also bring in modern technologies to transform agricultural practices, and increase productivity and profitability.”
• Cotton crop productivity enhancement  —
  • Union government will adopt a cluster-based approach to enhance the cotton crop.
  • To enhance the productivity of extra-long staple cotton, the government will adopt a cluster-based and value chain approach through Public Private Partnerships (PPP).
• Centre of excellence for millets —
  • Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad will be made into a Centre for Excellence and it will be supported for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level.
• Agriculture credit to be increased —
  • The agriculture credit target will be increased to Rs 20 lakh crore with a focus on animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries.
• GOBARdhan scheme —
  • Five-hundred new ‘waste to wealth’ plants under GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme will be established for promoting a circular economy.

Conservation strategies –

• MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes) —
  • It is a new programme that will facilitate mangrove plantations along India’s coastline and on saltpan lands.
  • The programme will operate through “convergence between MGNREGS, Campa Fund and other sources.”
  • This new programme will aim at the intensive afforestation of coastal mangrove forests.
• Amrit Dharohar —
  • This is a scheme that will be implemented over the next three years to encourage the optimal use of wetlands and enhance bio-diversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities and income generation for local communities.
  • Amrit Dharohar will emphasise the importance of wetlands and their preservation, with an outlook that is inclusive of local communities as caretakers of the ecosystem.