Govt Sets Target of Covering 100 Lakh Hectare in Five Years under Micro-Irrigation: Union Agriculture Minister

Amid corona crisis, the government has set the target of covering 100 lakh hectares under micro-irrigation in five years' time, said Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Rural Development and Pachayati Raj, Narendra Singh Tomar, said on Wednesday.

Per Drop More Crop

Further, he informed that the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) is implementing the 'Per Drop More Crop' component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana (PMKSY-PDMC) since 2015-16 for enhancing water use efficiency in the agriculture sector and more importantly for the overall benefit of the farmers.

Govt has created a dedicated Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) of Rs 5,000 crore

The Agriculture Minister said that the government has created a dedicated Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) of Rs 5,000 crore with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) with the objective to facilitate the states in mobilising resources for expanding coverage of micro-irrigation.

As per Reports, the steering committee of MIF and NABARD has sanctioned projects of Rs 3,805.67 crore for covering 12.53 lakh hectares under MIF.

Tomar advised all the states to access MIF for incentivising micro-irrigation through an additional (top up) subsidy over and above the one available under PMKSY-PDMC for achieving the target.

He also asked the states to access the fund for innovative integrated projects including projects in the public private partnership (PPP) mode, depending on state specific requirements to bring additional area under micro-irrigation PDMC.

Micro Irrigation not only increases water use efficiency but also the productivity of crops

Tomar said that there is a need for adopting a holistic approach for more production from unit area by improving soil health, reduction in input costs, enhancing crop productivity and increasing farmers’ awareness for benefiting the farming community and helping the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for doubling of farmers’ income.