**Executive Summary**
This document is the answer provided by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2549 concerning incentives for farmers cultivating commercial crops, to be answered on December 16, 2025. The response details the government schemes and initiatives aimed at supporting commercial crop cultivation, including financial assistance, technological advancements, and farmer empowerment programs. Key highlights include the implementation of schemes such as the National Food Security & Nutrition Mission (NFSNM) and the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), as well as the development of the AgriStack Digital Infrastructure and genome editing research by ICAR.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Government Schemes and Incentives:**
* The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is implementing schemes for commercial crops (cotton, jute & allied fibres, and sugarcane) in 19 states under NFSNM since 2014-15, focusing on technology transfer through demonstrations and training.
* The Rubber Board is implementing the "Sustainable and Inclusive Development of Natural Rubber Sector" scheme.
* MIDH, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, promotes holistic growth of horticulture crops across all States and UTs.
* The Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (HCDP) leverages geographical specialization of horticulture clusters.
* The Government sets Minimum Support Price (MSP) for cotton & jute and Fair & Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane.
* **Technological Advancements:**
* ICAR initiated a genome editing project in 2023 to enhance climate resilience and food security, focusing on 24 field crops including cotton and sugarcane.
* A special cotton project promotes High Density Planting System (HDPS) under NFSNM.
* ICAR-ISRI is conducting research on genome editing, precision agriculture, and smart irrigation in sugarcane, and has developed the IKSHU-Cane model.
* ICAR initiated a Sub-scheme for enabling climate resilience through genome editing in horticultural crops such as apple, banana, grapes and more.
* **Digital Agriculture Mission:**
* The Government approved the Digital Agriculture Mission to create a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Agriculture, including AgriStack, Krishi Decision Support System, and comprehensive soil fertility maps.
* AgriStack DPI consists of Geo-Reference Village Maps, Crop Sown Registry, and the Farmers Registry, maintained by State Governments/Union Territories.
* As of 10.12.2025, a total of 7,70,65,153 Farmer IDs have been generated.
* **Farmer Engagement:**
* In Sidhi Parliamentary Constituency, 6418 farmers are actively involved in commercial farming and are supported through high-quality inputs and capacity building activities.
* **Production and Productivity Data:**
* Annexed data shows State-wise production and productivity of sugarcane, cotton, jute, and mesta for the years 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Farmers cultivating commercial crops**
**Impact**
Affected positively by increased access to government schemes, technological advancements, digital IDs, and capacity building programs.
**Action Required**
Engage with available schemes and programs, adopt new technologies, register for digital IDs, and participate in training and capacity building activities.
**Stakeholder: State Governments**
**Impact**
Required to implement and maintain foundational registries like Geo-Reference Village Maps, Crop Sown Registry, and the Farmers Registry. They will also need to support the digital agriculture ecosystem and farmer engagement.
**Action Required**
Create and maintain the necessary registries, ensure farmer registry applications can onboard tenant and lessee farmers, and support the Digital Agriculture Mission.
**Stakeholder: ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research)**
**Impact**
Responsible for conducting research and development activities in areas such as genome editing, precision agriculture, and smart irrigation.
**Action Required**
Continue to conduct research and develop new technologies to improve crop productivity and climate resilience.
**Stakeholder: Rubber Board**
**Impact**
Responsible for implementing the "Sustainable and Inclusive Development of Natural Rubber Sector" scheme.
**Action Required**
Implement the scheme for the development of the natural rubber sector in the country.
Key Entities Referenced
National Food Security & Nutrition Mission (NFSNM): A scheme under which commercial crops are supported through technology transfer.
Minimum Support Price (MSP): A government intervention fixing price for cotton & jute.
Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH): A Centrally Sponsored Scheme for holistic growth of horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic & medicinal plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo.
Digital Agriculture Mission: A mission approved by the Fifteenth Finance Commission, which envisages the creation of a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Agriculture.
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare: The primary government body responsible for providing incentives to farmers cultivating commercial crops.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2549
TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 16TH DECEMBER, 2025
INCENTIVES TO FARMERS CULTIVATING COMMERCIAL CROPS
2549. SHRI JASHUBHAI BHILUBHAI RATHVA:
MS KANGNA RANAUT:
SHRI VISHWESHWAR HEGDE KAGERI:
SHRI BALABHADRA MAJHI:
SHRI P P CHAUDHARY:
SHRI MAHENDRA SINGH SOLANKY:
SHRI RODMAL NAGAR:
SHRI SUKANTA KUMAR PANIGRAHI:
SHRI RAJKUMAR CHAHAR:
DR RAJESH MISHRA:
Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण मं(cid:361)ी be
pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is providing incentives to farmers cultivating commercial crops
such as cotton, sugarcane, jute, rubber, and horticulture crops and if so, the details of support
provided through schemes including NFSNM, MSP assistance, cluster-based development and
value-chain strengthening, State-wise, particularly Dewas-Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh;
(b) the production and productivity of major commercial crops during the last three years,
State-wise particularly Pali in Rajasthan, Dewas-Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh and Himachal
Pradesh;
(c) the steps taken to promote new technologies such as genome editing, precision
agriculture, smart irrigation and high-density planting particularly for cotton and sugarcane and
the number of crops currently included under the genome-editing project of ICAR, State-wise
particularly Dewas-Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh;
(d) the number of farmers who have been assigned unique digital IDs under the AgriStack
ecosystem, and how this digital enablement supports transparency, real-time advisories, and
farmer income enhancement; and
(e) the number of farmers engaged in commercial farming in Sidhi Parliamentary Constituency
and the efforts taken to encourage them?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण रा(cid:475) मं(cid:361)ी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)
(a): Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is implementing a scheme on commercial crops
viz., cotton, jute & allied fibres and sugarcane in 19 states including Madhya Pradesh under
National Food Security & Nutrition Mission (NFSNM) [erstwhile National Food Security Mission
(NFSM)] from 2014-15. Under this scheme, thrust has been given on transfer of technology
through demonstrations and training in order to extend benefits to the farmers.Rubber Board is implementing the Central Sector Scheme “Sustainable and Inclusive
Development of Natural Rubber Sector” for the development of natural rubber sector in the
country.
Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme is being implemented for holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits,
vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic & medicinal plants,
coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo. All States and UTs are covered under MIDH scheme.
Further, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has launched Horticulture Cluster Development
Programme (HCDP), a new scheme for selected high value horticulture crops. This programme
is designed to leverage the geographical specialization of horticulture clusters and promote
integrated and market led development of pre-production, production, post-harvest, logistics,
branding and marketing activities.
Government fixes Minimum Support Price (MSP) of cotton & jute and Fair & Remunerative
Price (FRP) of sugarcane.
(b): The production and productivity of major commercial crops viz., cotton, jute & mesta and
sugarcane during last three years is Annexed.
(c): To promote new technologies such as genome editing, Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR) has initiated genome editing project in 2023. The project on ‘Enhancing Climate
Resilience and Ensuring Food Security with Genome Editing Tools’ is focusing on 24 field crops
including cotton and sugarcane in different ICAR research institutions.
A special project on cotton titled ‘Targeting technologies to agro-ecological zones- large
scale demonstrations of best practices to enhance cotton productivity’ is being implemented by
ICAR- Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur under NFSNM from 2023-24 wherein
High Density Planting System (HDPS) is promoted.
ICAR-Indian Sugarcane Research Institute (ISRI), Lucknow and ICAR-Sugarcane
Breeding Institute, Coimbatore are conducting research in areas such as genome editing,
precision agriculture and smart irrigation in sugarcane. ICAR-ISRI has unveiled a model called
IKSHU-Cane (Integrated Knowledge System for Sugarcane Harvest Output) to predict sugarcane
growth and yield, assess soil and climatic factors, and simulate sugar yield for diverse varieties in
tropical/subtropical zones.
ICAR has initiated a new Sub-scheme on "Enabling climate resilience and ensuring food
& nutritional security through genome editing in horticultural crops". Horticultural crops which are
currently included under this genome editing project are apple, banana, grapes, papaya,
pomegranate, tomato, chilli, cucumber, muskmelon, onion, potato, cassava, ginger, black pepper,
cumin, coriander and marigold.
(d): The Government has approved the Digital Agriculture Mission in Fifteenth Finance
Commission. The Mission envisages the creation of a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for
Agriculture, such as AgriStack, Krishi Decision Support System, a Comprehensive Soil Fertility &
Profile Map and other IT initiatives undertaken by the Central Government / State Government to
enable a robust digital agriculture ecosystem in the country. This, in turn, would drive innovative
farmer-centric digital solutions and make them reliable. The AgriStack DPI consists of three
foundational registries or databases associated with agriculture sector, i.e., Geo-Reference
Village Maps, Crop Sown Registry, and the Farmers Registry, all created and maintained by the
State Governments / Union Territories.
The state Farmer Registry under the digital agriculture mission covers all the landholding
farmers. Farmer registry application also has the provision to onboard the tenant and lessee
farmers. A State can decide to include such farmers in the farmers’ registry as per the state’s
policy on tenants and lessee farmers. Further, as of 10.12.2025, a total of 7,70,65,153 Farmer
IDs have been generated.
(e): As reported by the Directorate Farmer Welfare & Agriculture Development, Government of
Madhya Pradesh, in Sidhi Parliamentary Constituency, 6418 farmers are actively involved in
commercial farming. Farmers are being supported by providing high quality inputs and conducting
regular capacity building activities, including training sessions, demonstrations and field visits.Annexure
State-wise Production & Productivity of major Commercial Crops
Sugarcane (Production in lakh tonnes & Productivity in tonnes/ha)
Production Productivity
S.No. State
2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
1 Andhra Pradesh 29.56 22.14 19.85 73.89 80.53 90.24
2 Assam 12.64 13.80 12.38 43.59 47.23 42.34
3 Bihar 127.43 120.84 121.49 60.63 59.78 63.09
4 Chhattisgarh 23.88 20.41 18.66 56.89 57.16 55.93
5 Gujarat 134.61 144.80 137.14 74.34 71.62 72.65
6 Haryana 88.60 73.74 58.30 82.23 83.58 81.38
7 Himachal Pradesh 0.22 0.22 0.21 15.44 15.44 15.44
8 Karnataka 593.46 418.11 480.60 90.00 77.00 89.00
9 Madhya Pradesh 64.44 75.90 61.09 70.04 66.00 57.09
10 Maharashtra 1239.68 1120.88 1099.70 91.20 78.00 94.23
11 Odisha 3.94 4.12 6.81 53.78 57.40 51.34
12 Punjab 75.06 75.10 72.79 83.12 83.25 82.05
13 Rajasthan 3.10 3.45 4.65 87.96 82.98 79.98
14 Tamil Nadu 176.58 159.27 133.51 111.08 105.00 102.00
15 Telangana 29.43 24.33 19.16 105.10 90.12 93.06
16 Uttar Pradesh 2242.46 2158.11 2208.01 80.24 81.35 81.17
17 Uttarakhand 37.60 77.76 76.50 80.00 82.65 84.66
18 West Bengal 14.43 11.04 8.79 78.20 66.58 66.58
All India 4905.33 4531.58 4546.11 83.35 78.95 83.42
Cotton (Production in lakh bales & Productivity in kg/ha.)
Production Productivity
S.No. State
2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
1 Andhra Pradesh 15.41 7.37 11.31 372 297 476
2 Gujarat 87.95 90.57 71.57 602 574 513
3 Haryana 10.00 15.09 11.77 296 444 502
4 Karnataka 25.68 20.59 22.73 460 471 570
5 Madhya Pradesh 14.33 18.01 15.35 410 486 486
6 Maharashtra 83.16 80.45 73.73 338 323 304
7 Odisha 7.05 7.05 8.23 554 554 586
8 Punjab 4.44 6.29 4.14 303 500 439
9 Rajasthan 27.74 26.22 17.86 579 444 484
10 Tamil Nadu 3.19 2.52 2.11 313 330 350
11 Telangana 57.45 50.80 57.89 495 475 543
All India 336.60 325.22 297.24 443 436 440
Jute & Mesta (Production in thousand bales & Productivity in kg/ha.)
Production Productivity
S.No. State
2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
1 Assam 709.47 673.43 729.26 2094 2037 2107
2 Bihar 772.82 985.72 846.35 2309 2661 2581
3 Odisha 51.17 58.55 44.26 1488 1642 1529
4 West Bengal 7747.04 7865.69 7027.64 2701 2883 2932
All India 9391.60 9692.31 8801.57 2570 2737 2758
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