Parliament Question: Agrarian Crisis in Himachal Pradesh

O.I.H GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4050 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 17TH MARCH, 2026 AGRARIAN CRISIS IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

4050. SHRI SURESH KUMAR KASHYAP:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS कृ(cid:874)ष एव ं (cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण मं(cid:287)ी be

pleased to state:

(a) whether keeping in view that most of the farmers in Himachal Pradesh particularly in the Shimla Lok Sabha Constituency are small and marginal farmers and their livelihoods primarily depends upon apples, vegetables, horticulture and rain-fed agriculture, the farmers' income have been severely affected due to erratic rainfall, hailstorms, climate changes, crop damage, caused by wild animals, rising costs and limited market access in the past years;

(b) the number of farmers along with details of cultivable land in Shimla Lok Sabha Constituency, crop-wise;

(c) the details of the number of crop damage cases reported in this region during the last five years along with details of the funds disbursed as compensation in such cases, year- wise;

(d) the total number of farmers benefited from the Central agricultural schemes devised to augment the income of farmers year-wise; and

(e) whether the Government propose to formulate any special policy/package for the hilly agricultural region? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ(cid:874)ष एव ं (cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण रा(cid:207)य म(cid:287)ं ी (SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY)

(a): State Government of Himachal Pradesh have submitted that extreme weather events such as erratic rainfall, hailstorms, heavy monsoons and crop damages caused by wild animals may have impacted income of farmers.

(b): As per information provided by Government of Himachal Pradesh, the number of farmers practicing farming in Shimla Parliamentary Constituency are 260515 with total cropped area of 206563 Ha. The area under major crops are Maize (49456 Ha.), Rice (9933 Ha.), Wheat (50277 Ha.), Barley (4385 Ha.), Potato (7500 Ha.), Vegetables (41597.5 Ha.).(c): The State Government is primarily responsible for providing relief measures in the event of natural calamities. For this purpose, financial assistance is available through the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). Additional financial assistance, over and above SDRF, is considered from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) in cases of severe natural calamities, based on a Memorandum submitted by the State Government and assessment by an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT). For the financial year 2025– 26, the allocation under SDRF for Himachal Pradesh is ₹397.60 crore as the Central share and ₹44.00 crore as the State share, and both instalments of the Central share amounting to ₹397.60 crore have already been released.

As reported by the State Government, no crop damage cases were reported in the Shimla Lok Sabha Constituency during 2021–22, 2022–23 and 2024–25. In 2023–24, a total of 2,564 crop damage cases were reported and relief amounting to ₹136.72 lakh was disbursed under SDRF/NDRF. In 2025–26, 356 crop damage cases have been reported so far.

Further, under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), insurance support has been provided to farmers. From 2020–21 to 2024–25 (as on 31.12.2025), total claims of ₹376.79 crore have been paid against 5,79,605 farmer applications in Himachal Pradesh. Out of this, ₹47.58 crore has been paid to 54,935 farmer applications in Shimla district, providing financial protection to farmers against crop losses. Year-wise details of claims paid, and farmer applications benefitted under PMFBY for Himachal Pradesh (as on 31.12.2025) are as follows:

Year Paid Claims Application Benefitted (Rs. In Crore) (In No.) 2020-21 84.86 167091 2021-22 77.77 117916 2022-23 68.04 138727 2023-24 140.39 127676 2024-25 5.73 28195 Total 376.79 5,79,605(d): The Government has launched Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) in 2019 for providing support to landholding farmers of Rs. 6000 per year in 3 equal installments. So far, Rs. 373.32 crore has been disbursed in 22 instalments to eligible farmers in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh under the scheme. Out of this, during FY 2025–26 (December–March), an amount of Rs. 16.37 crore was disbursed through the 22nd instalment to 81,852 eligible farmers in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

As reported by State Government, the total number of farmers of Shimla

Constituency benefitted from central agricultural schemes year wise are:

Year No. of farmers benefitted(Shimla Constituency) 2021-22 36163 2022-23 39207 2023-24 39791 2024-25 42829 2025-26 47443

(e): The Government of India is implementing several Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes and programmes/schemes aimed at increasing income of farmers across the country including Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. The major schemes/ programmes being implemented by Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is placed at Annexure.Annexure Major schemes/programmes initiated by DA&FW

1. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)

2. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana (PM-KMY)

3. Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA)

4. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)/ Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS)

5. Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS)

6. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)

7. Formation and Promotion of 10,000 new Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs)

8. National Bee Keeping and Honey Mission (NBHM)

9. Namo Drone Didi

10. Agri Fund for Start-Ups & Rural Enterprises' (AgriSURE)

11. National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)

12. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana- Detailed Project Report (RKVY-DPR)

13. Per Drop More Crop (PDMC)

14. Sub-Mission on Agriculture Mechanization (SMAM)

15. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)

16. Soil Health & Fertility (SH&F)

17. Rainfed Area Development (RAD)

18. Agroforestry

19. Crop Diversification Programme (CDP)

20. Sub-Mission on Agriculture Extension (SMAE)

21. National Food Security and Nutrition Mission (NFSNM)

22. Integrated Scheme for Agriculture Marketing (ISAM)

23. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)

24. National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO)-Oil Palm

25. National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO)-Oilseeds

26. Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region

27. Digital Agriculture Mission

28. National Bamboo Mission.

29. Mission for Atmanirbharta in Pulses

30. PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY) *****