For farms and farmers

Context: The launch of Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana (RGKNY) By Chattisgarh is a welcome step towards increasing farmers income but underlying problems still needs to be addressed.

Cash Transfer Schemes

• Direct benefit transfer under RGKNY: supplement the income of farmers by providing Rs 10,000-13,000/acre through DBT. 
• Centre’s PM-KISAN scheme provides ?6,000 to farm families owning less than five acres of land.
• State Schemes: Telangana, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh have similar cash transfer programmes for farmers.

Need of cash Transfer: 

• Imbalanced efficiency: extensive Minimum Support Price (MSP) working in combination with the PDS is inefficient due to lack of uniformity.
• MSP calculation: Controversial 

Challenges remain:

• Bypasses tenants and labourers: The income support schemes target landowners, and bypass tenants and labourers.
• Supply chain crisis: As witnessed in the USA, has negated the arguments regarding market driven approach in agriculture. 
• Pre-existing morbidities: including messy land records, unscientific and unsustainable crop patterns, market linkages, inadequate irrigation, conflict with wildlife and changing climate. 

Way Forward

• Creation of Buoyant Agriculture Sector: will take much more than recently taken steps. Quick decision making is required to check vulnerabilities arising out of supply chain dependent food security.