PSC report on Farmers
Context:
Recently, several measures were released by the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Food Processing in its first report on demands for grants (2024-25) for the welfare of farmers.
Relevance:
GS-02 (Government policies and interventions)
Key highlights of the report:
- Minimum Support Price: The report recommended providing a legal guarantee for MSP and updating the Parliament with a post-crop season statement that outlines
- Number of farmers who sold at MSP.
- The gap between MSP and market prices.
- Waste Management: To prevent stubble burning, the report recommended offering compensation to farmers to manage crop residues.
- Enhancing PM-KISAN Scheme: Double the annual assistance under PM-KISAN from ₹6,000 to ₹12,000 and extend benefits to tenant farmers and farm labourers.
- Debt Relief: Implement a debt waiver scheme for farmers and farm labourers to address distress and suicides. Meanwhile, monitor increasing loan dependence and rising outstanding debts among rural households.
- Budgetary Allocation: Address the decline in agriculture’s share of the central plan outlay, which dropped from 3.53% (2020-21) to 2.54% (2024-25).
- Universal Crop Insurance: Introduce mandatory crop insurance for small farmers (up to 2 acres), modelled after PM-JAY health insurance.
- National Commission for Farm Labourers: Establish a commission to address farm labourers’ rights and welfare, including minimum living wages.
- Renaming a Department: Rename the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to the Department of Agriculture, Farmers, and Farm Labourers Welfare to emphasise labourers’ welfare.
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