Govt to expand irrigation, insure farmer income

Agriculture minister in the new government, Radha Mohan Singh, highlighted six focus areas in his maiden media interaction. They were:

1) Expand irrigation coverage: The government will launch a Prime Minister's Gramin Sinchayi Yojana to expand irrigation coverage and reduce the dependence on monsoons. A similar pilot scheme was launched in 2003 by former NDA government but was discontinued by UPA.  

2) Insure farmers' income: The government will launch an Agriculture Income Insurance Scheme to provide compensation to farmers in case of crop damage arising out of factors like drought. The government will take the average of the last seven years of a farmer's income and offer insurance for that amount. The premium will be paid by the government.

3) Revamp support price mechanism: The government will declare minimum support prices of various crops in a way that farmer gets 50 per cent return on investment made in raising the crop.
 
4) Expand agriculture education: The country only has one Central Agriculture University and a second one was only recently approved. Steps will be taken to expand them to advance research in agriculture.

5) Monitor and address challenges of a below normal monsoon: The government is in touch with states and is preparing to brace the  any problem arising of inadequate rains.

6) On GM Crops: The government will allow GM crops only if it is highly necessary and critical for the country.