Parliament Question: Support for Farmers in Agricultural Distress

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS’ WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS’ WELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1533 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 28th July, 2026 SUPPORT FOR FARMERS IN AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS 1533. SHRI K RADHAKRISHNAN: Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ(cid:874)ष एवं (cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण मं(cid:287)ी be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has taken note of the growing distress among farmers due to rising input costs, declining farm-gate prices of several crops and losses caused by extreme weather events in recent months; (b) if so, the details of the measures taken by the Government to provide immediate financial assistance, ensure remunerative prices and compensate farmers for crop losses; (c) whether the Government proposes to expand the coverage of crop insurance, enhance financial support under existing schemes and increase the procurement of crops at the Minimum Support Price (MSP); and (d) the details of funds released, beneficiaries covered and farmers compensated during the last one-year State-wise? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण रा(cid:475) मं(cid:361)ी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR) (a) to (d): The Government is aware that farmers face challenges due to fluctuations in input costs, market prices and climatic conditions. Agriculture is a State subject. However, Government of India, through various schemes and programmes supplements the efforts of the State Governments in addressing these issues to enhance farmers' income, mitigate risks arising from adverse weather events and ensure remunerative returns to farmers. These include:(i) Minimum Support Price (MSP): Government declares Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for 22 mandated crops, 14 Kharif, 6 Rabi, and 2 commercial crops (jute and copra), based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and in consultation with State Governments and Central Ministries. While fixing MSP, factors such as cost of production, demand–supply trends, domestic and international prices, inter-crop price parity, and terms of trade are taken into account. MSP ensures a minimum margin of 50% over the cost of production to the farmers. The increase in MSP has significantly benefited farmers, as reflected in the steady rise in procurement levels and MSP payments made. (ii) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): PMFBY provides comprehensive risk coverage against non-preventable natural risks from pre-sowing to post-harvest losses. PMFBY along with the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS), provides comprehensive insurance coverage against crop losses arising from natural calamities and adverse weather events, thereby mitigating climate-related risks faced by farmers. As on 30.06.2026, 92.68 crore farmer applications have been enrolled under PMFBY and RWBCIS, and claims amount of ₹2.02 lakh crore has been paid against 25.58 crore farmer applications since inception of the schemes in 2016. About 86% of the total unique farmer applications enrolled under the schemes are from small and marginal farmers. The State-wise details of funds released, beneficiaries covered and claims/assistance provided to farmers during the last one year under the respective schemes are maintained scheme-wise and are given in the Annexure. (iii) State and National Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) In the event of natural calamities, relief assistance is provided by the concerned State Governments from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) in accordance with the approved norms. Additional financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) is provided for disasters of severe nature, following the prescribed procedure. Such assistance is in the nature of relief and not compensation. (iv) PM-KISAN: Under PM-KISAN, eligible farmer families receive income support of ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).In addition, Government is also implementing various other schemes such as the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Sub- Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), Integrated Scheme for Agricultural Marketing (ISAM), Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Formation and Promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), among others, to improve productivity, reduce cost of cultivation and strengthen farmers' income. To expand coverage of crop insurance, following steps have been taken by the Government under PMFBY:  AIDE (App for Intermediary Enrolment), a smart-phone App has been designed and rolled out in Kharif 2023 for enrolment of farmers at their door-steps through a large network of Insurance Intermediaries. It offers a completely paper-less and cash-less experience to a farmer.  The Government has actively supported the awareness activities being carried out by the States, implementing Insurance Companies, financial institutions, and Common Service Centres (CSCs) network to disseminate key features of PMFBY amongst farmers and members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).  Further, a structured awareness campaign ‘Crop Insurance Week/Fasal Bima Saptah’ has been initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare since Kharif 2021 season onwards to increase the awareness about benefits of the scheme, sensitize the stakeholders and to increase overall enrolment of farmers, with special focus on identified aspirational/tribal districts. Along with this, ‘Fasal Bima Pathshalas’ are also being organized at village/GP level for knowledge building of farmers on various aspects of scheme implementation.  Government had also organized a nationwide Doorstep Crop Insurance Policy/receipt Distribution mega drive – ‘Meri Policy Mere Haath’. Hard copies of crop insurance policy receipts are distributed to farmers enrolled under PMFBY through special camps at gram Panchayat/village level. Apart from this, other activities for awareness generation involve the publicity of key features and benefits of the scheme through advertisements in leading National and local newspapers, airing of audio-visual spots on regional / local channels, distribution of IEC material in local languages, dissemination of SMS through Kisan / National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) portal and organisation of online workshops of all stakeholders including farmers, Panchayat Members, and other key stakeholders. The Union Budget for 2018-19 had announced the pre-determined principle to keep MSPs at levels of at least one and half times of the cost of production. Accordingly, Government had increased MSPs for all mandated Kharif, Rabi and other commercial crops with a minimum return of 50 percent over all India weighted average cost of production from year 2018-19 onwards. Government offers to procure agricultural crops through designated procurement agencies and farmers have the option to sell their produce to the government agencies or in the open market whichever is advantageous to them. Out of the total production, only marketable surplus is available for procurement by Government agencies when market price of these produces falls below the MSP. Government procures cereals and coarse cereals through Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other designated State Agencies to provide price support to the farmers. Procurement of pulses, oilseeds and copra is done under Price Support Scheme under umbrella scheme of Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA), on the request of the concerned State Government as per the guidelines as and when market price of these produces fall below the MSP. Procurement agencies under PM- AASHA Scheme are National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and National Co-operative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd. (NCCF). Cotton and Jute are also procured by Government at MSP through Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and Jute Corporation of India (JCI), respectively. Increased MSP has benefited farmers of the country which are evident from data of procurement and MSP amount paid to the farmers. The details of procurement and MSP amount paid to farmers during 2004-2014 and 2014-2026 (upto June, 2026) are given as under:Procurement and MSP amount paid to farmers 2004-2014 2014-2026 (upto June, 2026) Total Procurement Total MSP Value Total Procurement Total MSP Value (In LMT) (In lakh Crore) (In LMT) (In lakh Crore) 6987 7.41 12819 27.80 To encourage domestic production of pulses, the Government is undertaking procurement of Tur, Urad and Masur under the PM-AASHA Scheme on the request of State Government from pre-registered farmers as much as offered by them through Central Nodal Agencies, namely the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF). Government also implements Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), a component under PM-AASHA, for procurement of agricultural and horticultural commodities, which are perishable in nature and are not covered under the Price Support Scheme (PSS). The objective of intervention is to protect the growers of these commodities from making distress sale in the event of a bumper crop during the peak arrival period when the prices tend to fall below economic levels and the cost of production.Annexure PMFBY & RWBCIS: State Year wise Coverage and Claims Report during 2025-26 as on 30.06.2026 GoI State Total Applications Paid Applications State/UTs Subsidy Subsidy Subsidy Enrolled Claims Paid Released Released Released (Rs. In (Rs. In (Rs. In (Rs. In (In Lakh) (In Lakh) Crore) Crore) Crore) Crore) A & N Islands 0.0083 - 0.0083 0.0002 - - Andhra Pradesh 111.65 - 111.65 18.88 0.99 0.02 Assam 44.04 61.87 105.91 14.24 29.60 0.34 Chhattisgarh 731.16 592.08 1,323.24 82.53 211.08 4.85 Goa 0.0004 0.0004 0.0009 0.0034 0.0032 0.0004 Haryana 363.09 359.96 723.05 178.05 918.21 48.74 Himachal Pradesh 83.66 0.75 84.41 9.63 0.06 0.0028 Jammu & Kashmir 72.15 5.49 77.64 3.40 51.61 0.96 Jharkhand 312.82 - 312.82 20.70 - - Karnataka 748.75 295.82 1,044.58 38.77 1,104.38 11.04 Kerala 63.90 28.87 92.77 2.34 0.29 0.00 Madhya Pradesh 1,100.09 1,100.11 2,200.20 197.03 239.95 3.89 Maharashtra 1,226.49 1,152.02 2,378.51 110.31 1,556.52 15.32 Manipur 1.53 - 1.53 0.05 - - Meghalaya 12.89 12.56 25.45 0.72 14.42 0.23 Mizoram - - - 0.0072 - - Odisha 270.28 476.04 746.32 131.34 3.53 0.04 Puducherry 2.14 2.48 4.62 0.2283 0.0166 0.0013 Rajasthan 1,877.24 1,185.42 3,062.65 384.95 2,117.95 55.99 Sikkim 0.06 - 0.06 0.0358 0.0052 0.0006 Tamil Nadu 382.35 381.43 763.78 55.85 237.26 6.78 Tripura 0.86 0.0114 0.8715 1.0531 0.0109 0.0003 Uttar Pradesh 295.22 292.18 587.39 139.03 842.48 41.09 Uttarakhand 308.39 18.07 326.46 3.43 60.78 1.25 Total 8,008.76 5,965.15 13,973.91 1,392.58 7,389.14 190.53 *****