Every farmer gets annual benefit of Rs 50,000, this is Modi’s guarantee: PM

Addressing the inaugural session of the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress, Modi said that before 2014, small and medium farmers were deprived of government benefits.

“You are experiencing the changes that have come from the policies that have been changed, the decisions that have been taken in the last nine years. Do you remember the demand of farmers before 2014? Farmers used to say that they got very little aid from the government. And whatever little aid was available used to go into the accounts of middlemen. Small and medium farmers remained deprived of the benefits of government schemes,” he said.

“This situation has changed in the last nine years. Today, crores of small farmers are getting the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. No more middlemen, no bogus beneficiaries… In the last four years, Rs 2.5 lakh crore has been transferred directly in the bank accounts of farmers,” said Modi. In contrast, he said, the total agriculture budget of five years before 2014 was less than Rs 90,000 crore.

“Farmers are not burdened with increase in the prices of fertiliser and chemicals across the world. This has also been guaranteed. This is Modi’s guarantee, which the BJP government at the Centre has given you,” he said.

“Today, the farmer is getting a bag of urea at less than Rs 270. The same bag is available for Rs 720 in Bangladesh, Rs 800 in Pakistan, Rs 2,100 in China… more than Rs 3,000 in the US,” he said.

“What is the guarantee after all? It shows the great effort required to change the life of the farmer. Overall, in the last nine years, the BJP government has spent over Rs 10 lakh crore just on fertiliser subsidy. What is a bigger guarantee,” he said.

Saying that his government is “very serious” about ensuring that farmers get a fair price for their crops, Modi said: “In the last nine years, more than Rs 15 lakh crore has been given to farmers by increasing the MSP, and by procuring on MSP.”

“If you calculate, the central government is spending over Rs 6.5 lakh crore on the agriculture sector and farmers each year. Which means that each year, on an average, the government is providing Rs 50,000 to each farmer in some form or the other. This means that under the BJP government, farmers are guaranteed to get Rs 50,000 each year in different ways. This is Modi’s guarantee. And I am saying what I have done, not making promises,” he said.

“In continuation of the farmer-friendly policy, another major decision was taken a few days ago. The central government has announced a package of Rs 3.70 lakh crore for farmers,” said Modi.

As per the revised estimates, the Centre’s outlay for PM-Kisan was Rs 60,000 crore, the agriculture and allied sector’s budget (excluding PM-Kisan) Rs 76,279 crore, and fertiliser subsidy Rs 2.25 lakh crore during 2022-23.

The PM asked cooperatives to become carriers of social (samaj niti) and national policy (rashtra niti) instead of politics (rajniti). He asked them to become a model of transparency and corruption-free governance, and adopt digital tools in a big way.

Modi called upon cooperatives to work towards increasing production of oilseeds and pulses, and help the country become self-reliant in cooking oils.

The PM also mentioned the recent PM-PRANAM scheme which aims to propagate chemical-free farming and promote the use of alternative fertilisers. He urged cooperatives to adopt five villages in each district to ensure no use of chemicals in agriculture.

Addressing the event, Union Minister for Home Affairs and Cooperation Amit Shah said the cooperative movement had become stronger under Modi’s guidance. He said the Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022, will come up during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Inter-ministerial discussions are being held on the proposed cooperative university which will be established soon, he said.

Counter guarantees

THE PM’s remarks, which framed the benefits of government schemes as “guarantees”, come at a time when the Congress has made “five guarantees” its main poll plank – first in Karnataka, and now in Madhya Pradesh which goes to polls later this year.