Govt. to Provide Highly Subsidised Seeds and Fertilizers To 1.23 Lakh Tribal Farmers Under Krushi Vaividhyakaran Yojana

With the assembly elections approaching, the Gujarat government has set a goal of providing heavily subsidized seeds and fertilizers to 1.23 lakh tribal farmers under the "Krushi Vaividhyakaran Yojana 2022-23′′. 

(Agriculture Diversification Project). The scheme, which has been in effect for a decade, aims to double the income of tribal families.

1.23 lakh tribal beneficiaries targeted this year is the highest number in the scheme's seven-year history. The government started delivering fertilizer and seed kits on Tuesday. According to authorities, one kit costs Rs 3,240, but the recipients are charged Rs 250.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel conducted a video conference with authorities and beneficiaries from 14 districts with significant tribal populations to discuss the scheme, which was launched in 2012-13 and has benefited over 2.1 lakh people.

"During his stint as chief minister of the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi established this scheme to ensure that tribals' income from agriculture increased and that there was diversification... This year, some 1.23 lakh tribal farmers residing in the region between Ambaji (in the north) and Umargoan (in the south) would benefit from the scheme." Patel explained.

The chief minister stated in his virtual address that organic fertilizers have been supplied under this scheme since last year. "A tribal recipient would receive high-yielding vegetable or maize seeds, a bag of DAP (diammonium phosphate), and one bag of organic fertilizers under this initiative," Patel added.

Maize, brinjal, tomato, okra, bitter gourd, and bottle gourd seeds were previously distributed through this scheme.

Urea, NPK, and organic fertilizer were among the fertilizers used. This time, we've created an online portal for collecting scheme applications. We used to take manual applications till last year.

Our goal for this year is to reach 1.23 lakh, tribal farmers. We cleared 76,000 applications until last evening, and kit distribution for them began on Tuesday," Dr. S Murali Krishna, secretary of the Tribal Development Department, told The Indian Express.

Since Dang has been designated as a "natural farming" district, only organic fertilizers will be delivered to the recipients, according to the official.