Speaking in the Lok Sabha Minister of State for Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said to improve production and productivity of various agricultural crops, the Government is promoting adoption of modern technologies and practices like multiple cropping, intercropping and integrated farming systems etc.
Minister also categorized the farmers on the basis of their land-holdings. Quoting agriculture Census, he said the operational holdings are categorised in five sizes:- 1 Marginal farmer-below 1.00 hectare 2 Small farmer- 1.00-2.00 hectare, 3 Semi- medium farmer—2.00-4.00 hectare 4 Medium farmer—4.00-10.00 hectare and Large farmer -10.00 hectare and above
In a Report prepared by the IDFC Rural Development Network, it has been observed that Small farms are more efficient, especially in cultivating labour-intensive crops or tending livestock, but land holdings are too small to generate sufficient household income.
With a view to improve the condition of Small and Marginal farmers and to double the income of farmers by 2022, Government is realigning its interventions from production-centric approach to farmers’ income-centric initiatives, with focus on better and new technological solutions.
He cited several schemes from Soil Health Card, Neem Coated Urea to Rainfed Area Development under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) etc in this context.
