Addressing the 3rd India Agricultural outlook forum 2019 with the theme "Universal Basic Income for Farmers" on Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal said that 85 million farmers have already registered for the scheme and an amount of around $3.5 billion has been transferred to about 65 million farmers via the first installment itself.
According to Agarwal, the extent of income support to the farmers is evident from the fact that about 1.1 million farmers credited the amount of Rs 2,000 through the PM Kisan scheme withdrew the money on the the same day of crediting.
Elaborating the scheme to the gathering, which consisted of representatives from global organisations and foreign delegates, the Secretary said that beneficiaries are being identified by the state governments and the Central scheme is providing an income support of Rs 6,000 per year to small and marginal farmer families.
Agarwal said that artificial intelligence (AI) and big data can play a great role in the agriculture sector as data is key to targeted development. The government is collating the data on farmers through the registration process for major schemes and land holding details being digitised. Besides, other data on insurance, soil health card and Kisan Credit Card (KCC) information is also being utilized for understanding the actual status of farmers and their cultivation.
In the crop insurance sector, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) envisages use of improved technology like remote sensing imagery, AI and modeling tools to reduce time gap for settlement of claims. The PMFBY insurance cover is to the tune of about $ 3.5 billion annually and covers nearly 20 million farmers.
( With inputs from IANS )