Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced a slew of measures to spur agricultural growth and productivity, to benefit the ‘Annadata’.
Announcing the Government’s decision to establish a Makhana Board in Bihar in the Union Budget, she said it will improve production, processing, value addition, and marketing of makhana as well as support the people engaged in these activities to be organized into Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).
She added that the Board will provide handholding and training support to makhana farmers and also work to ensure they receive the benefits of all relevant Government schemes.
The minister stated that a National Mission on High Yielding Seeds will be launched with an aim to strengthen the research ecosystem, targeted development and propagation of seeds with high yield, pest resistance and climate resilience, and commercial availability of more than 100 seed varieties released since July 2024.
To provide conservation support to both public and private sectors for genetic resources and ensure future food and nutritional security, the Minister said that the second Gene Bank with 10 lakh germplasm lines will be set up.
Announcing the ‘Mission for Cotton Productivity’, Mrs Sitharaman highlighted that the five-year mission will facilitate significant improvements in productivity and sustainability of cotton farming, and promote extra-long staple cotton varieties.
She said the mission will benefit lakhs of cotton growing farmers as the best of science & technology support will be provided to farmers. Aligned with the Government’s integrated 5F vision for the textile sector, the Minister remarked that the mission will help in increasing incomes of the farmers as well as ensure a steady supply of quality cotton for rejuvenating India’s traditional textile sector.
Noting the importance of Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) in facilitating short term loans for around 7.7 crore farmers, fishermen, and dairy farmers, the Minister announced the enhancement of loan limit under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme from Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh for loans taken through the KCC.
Mrs Sitharaman announced the setting up of the Urea plant with an annual capacity of 12.7 lakh metric tons at Namrup, Assam. This, she said will further augment urea supply and help to achieve Atmanirbharta in urea production, along with the recently reopened three dormant urea plants in the Eastern region.