Sitharaman also
announced Rs 10,000 crore fund to support 2 lakh micro food enterprises for
promoting health and wellness, herbal, organic and nutritional products.
Illustration: Uttam Ghosh
The government on Friday
announced a Rs 1.63 lakh crore package for agriculture and allied sectors aimed
at strengthening infrastructure, logistics and capacity building at farm gate.
Announcing the third
tranche of an overall package of Rs 20 lakh crore to deal with the economic
fallout of COVID-19 pandemic, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a
Rs 1 lakh crore Agri Infrastructure Fund that will finance projects at
farm-gate and aggregation point for efficient post-harvest management of crops.
Besides, schemes for micro
food enterprises, cattle vaccination, dairy sector, herbal plantation,
beekeeping, and fruits and vegetables were also announced.
She said the government
will provide Rs 1 lakh crore for aggregators, farmers producers organisations
(FPOs), primary agri cooperative societies, agri entrepreneurs and startups
under the agri infrastructure fund.
The fund will be created at
the earliest, she said.
Lack of adequate cold chain
facilities and post-harvest management infrastructure in the vicinity of farm
gates is causing gaps in the value chain, she said.
Sitharaman also announced
Rs 10,000 crore fund to support 2 lakh micro food enterprises (MFEs) for
promoting health and wellness, herbal, organic and nutritional products.
The government will also
launch a Rs 20,000 crore Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana for the
development of marine and inland fisheries.
Of this, Rs 11,000 crore
will be earmarked for activities in marine, inland fisheries and aquaculture
while Rs 9,000 crore for infrastructure creation such as fishing harbours, cold
chain and markets.
This, she said, will
provide employment to over 55 lakh persons and double exports to Rs 1 lakh
crore.
The finance minister said
the ongoing National Animal Disease Control Programme for Foot and Mouth
Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis will look at 100 per cent vaccination of cattle,
buffalo, sheep, goats, and pigs against FMD at an outlay of Rs 13,343 crore.
Also, a Rs 15,000 crore
Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund was announced to support
private investment in dairy processing, value addition and cattle feed
infrastructure.
The government has launched
a Rs 4,000 crore fund to promote herbal cultivation in about 10 lakh hectares
of area, she said, adding that the scheme will help generate Rs 5,000 crore
income for farmers.
Along the bank of Ganga, a
corridor of medicinal plants will be developed over 800 hectares area.
Another Rs 500 crore has
been earmarked for beekeeping initiatives, helping 2 lakh beekeepers.
The government extended
Operation Greens from tomato, onion and potato to all fruits and vegetables by
providing an additional fund of Rs 500 crore.
This money would go into
providing subsidy on transportation from surplus to deficient markets as well
as on storages including cold storages.
The scheme prevents any
distress sale by farmers, she said.
Tags
Economy