Doubling Farmers’ Income: Achievements & Challenges

The Doubling Farmers’ Income (DFI) mission, announced in the Union Budget 2016–17, aims to double real farm income by FY 2024–25, marking 75 years of India’s independence.

Guided by the Ashok Dalwai Committee (2018), it targets a 10.4% CAGR in income through a centrally sponsored, multi-ministerial Jan-Andolan approach.

Seven Pillars for Doubling Farmers’ Income

The Dalwai Committee outlined seven key areas to drive comprehensive agricultural income growth.

Crop Productivity: Achieve a 1.3x increase in yield through precision farming and better seed quality.
Livestock Productivity: Raise livestock share in agricultural GVA from 30% to 40% via genetic upgrades.
Resource Efficiency: Reduce input costs by 20–30% using micro-irrigation and ICT-led practices.
Remunerative Prices: Maintain MSP margins between 50% and 85% based on the A2+FL cost formula.
Cropping Intensity: Raise gross cropped index from 1.42 to 1.50 by FY25 through irrigation expansion.
Diversification: Shift 20% of farm area to high-value crops like horticulture and oilseeds.
Non-Farm Shift: Transition 8–10% surplus labour into allied sectors and processing value chains.

The A2+FL cost formula combines actual paid-out expenses (A2) with the estimated value of unpaid family labour (FL), forming the basis for determining MSP.
The Gross Cropped Area Index measures the ratio of total cropped area to net sown area, indicating the intensity of cropping and land-use efficiency.

Steps Taken to Achieve Objectives

Crop Productivity

MIDH Implementation: Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) funds nurseries and fertigation pilots.
Soil Health Cards: Over 254 million cards issued; third soil testing cycle underway in 2024.
Seed Hub Network: 158 breeder seed hubs promote climate-resilient varieties of pulses and millets.

Current Affairs

Livestock Productivity

Gokul Mission Expansion: Rashtriya Gokul Mission scales IVF, semen sorting, and breed improvement.
Disease Control Funding: National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) allocated ₹13,343 crore for FMD eradication.
Dairy Infra Push: Dairy Infrastructure Development Fund offers concessional loans for chilling, processing units.

Resource Efficiency

Micro-Irrigation Subsidy: PMKSY–PDMC provides a 55% subsidy for drip and sprinkler irrigation to smallholders.
Solar Pump Deployment: PM–KUSUM installed 5.16 lakh solar pumps toward a 30.8 GW target.
Groundwater Management: Atal Bhujal Yojana supports aquifer plans in 81 blocks with a ₹6,000 crore outlay.

Remunerative Prices

MSP Reform: 1.5x A2+FL pricing formula adopted for Kharif and Rabi crops since FY19.
Price Support: PM–AASHA provides price-deficiency payments and procurement support for pulses and oilseeds.
Digital Trade: e-NAM 2.0 connects 1,473 mandis with logistics, warehousing, & payment integration.

Cropping Intensity

Canal Modernisation: Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) revived 99 irrigation projects covering 19.54 lakh ha since 2017.
Crop Substitution: The Sahi Fasal campaign promotes millet and pulse demonstrations at 472 sites.
Water Harvesting: 4.84 lakh farm ponds constructed under PDMC for groundwater recharge.

Diversification

CDP Demonstrations: Crop Diversification Programme showcases paddy alternatives across 7.2 lakh ha.
Millet Promotion: Millets Mission broadens MSP coverage and export potential in FY 2024.
Oilseed Strategy: National Mission on Edible Oils–Oilseeds aims for 69.7 MT output by FY31.

Non-Farm Shift

Infrastructure Loans: Agriculture Infrastructure Fund offers 3% interest subvention up to ₹2 crore.
Agri-Startup Ecosystem: 621 startups incubated with ₹728 cr. grant under Innovation Fund (2020–24).
Rural Skilling: 7.16 lakh youth trained in agro-processing, beekeeping, dairy, and fisheries by 2024.

Achievements in Doubling Farmers’ Income

Dairy Leadership: India contributes 24.76% of global milk output, retaining the global top rank.
Diversification Gains: Horticulture production (352.2 MT) exceeded foodgrain in 2023–24 estimates.
Income Growth: NSO data show a 59% nominal increase in farm household income from FY13 to FY19.
Input Efficiency: Drip irrigation saved 40–50% water and reduced fertiliser use by 25–28%.
Digital Market Access: e-NAM enabled ₹80,262 crore trade; 1,473 mandis integrated nationwide.
Infrastructure Push: ₹91,856 crore mobilised via Agriculture Infrastructure Fund for 92,393 projects.
Rural Skilling: 7.16 lakh youth certified under Skill India in dairy, fisheries, and beekeeping.
Export Success: Millet exports touched ₹6,700 crore in FY24, doubling since FY22.
FPO Expansion: 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) formed under CSS by April 2025, boosting farmer bargaining power.

Bottlenecks in Doubling Farmers’ Income

Fragmented Holdings: An average farm size of 1.08 hectares limits mechanisation and productivity.
Irrigation Deficit: Only 18% of the potential irrigable area is under micro-irrigation technologies.
Price Distress: Harvest-time mandi prices for several key crops remain 10–33% below the MSP.
Digital Divide: Only 18% of rural households use smartphones for agronomic decision-making.
Veterinary Gaps: Eleven states still have vaccination rates below 70% for FMD, jeopardising livestock productivity.
Credit Exclusion: 41% rural households lack access to formal institutional credit (AIDIS 2023).
Climate Shocks: The 2023 drought reduced rainfed crop yields by up to 18% nationwide.
Trade Limitations: e-NAM inter-state transactions still form less than 1% of total agri-trade volume.
Monoculture Persistence: Rice–wheat systems continue to dominate despite diversification pilots in Punjab and Haryana.

FMD (Foot-and-Mouth Disease) is a contagious viral disease in livestock that reduces milk yield, fertility, and trade value, making nationwide vaccination essential for livestock productivity.

Way Forward

FPO Scale-Up: Expand to 30,000 FPOs by 2030 using blended capital and equity infusion.
AI-Based Advisory: Deploy 100 ICAR Centres of Excellence for drone-linked crop mapping.
PM-FBY Reform: Universalise crop insurance with NDVI-based triggers and real-time payout systems.

NDVI-based triggers utilise satellite-derived vegetation indices to evaluate crop health and trigger insurance payouts under schemes such as PM-FBY.

Legal MSP Trial: Pilot price-deficiency schemes for pulses and oilseeds across 10 target states.

Blue Economy Boost: Scale cage aquaculture and seaweed parks to ₹1 lakh crore GVA by 2030.
Nutrient Subsidy Reform: Implement Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and nano-urea scaling by FY27.
Green Credit Market: Operationalise the Green Credit Programme for regenerative agriculture and low-methane rice by FY26.

The Ashok Dalwai Committee emphasized a holistic, income-oriented approach to transform Indian agriculture. Realizing the goal of doubling farmers’ income requires integrated reforms, diversification, and robust market linkages.

Reference: PIB

PMF IAS Pathfinder for Mains – Question 264

Q. While India has witnessed a Green Revolution, the dream of a ‘Golden Revolution’ in farmers’ income remains elusive. Discuss the structural reforms needed to achieve the target of doubling farmers’ income. (150 Words) (10 Marks)

Approach

Introduction: Write briefly about the current status of Indian farmers by mentioning the Green Revolution & the Green Revolution.
Body: Write why farmers’ income remains stagnant and suggest structural reforms.
Conclusion: Emphasis on income-centric reforms through diversification, infrastructure development & market integration.