Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors
Income Transfer Schemes for farmers
Context: Chhattisgarh government has recently launched the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana (RGKNY), an income transfer scheme for farmers
About RGKNY
It aims to supplement the income of the Chhattisgarh State’s 18 lakh rice, maize and sugarcane farmers through direct cash transfers
RGKNY provides 10,000/acre for paddy farmers and Rs 13,000/acre for sugarcane farmers.
The scheme will be extended to farmers of other crops — in fact, to landless labourers as well
This is in addition to the Centre’s PM-KISAN scheme that provides ₹6,000 to farm families owning less than five acres of land
Did You Know about similar income transfer schemes by State governments?
Telangana Rytha Bandu Scheme offers cash transfer scheme of Rs 5,000/acre, per season
Odisha government launched the KALIA scheme (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation)
West Bengal has Krishak Bandhu scheme
Jharkhand has Mukhya Mantri Krishi Aashirwad Yojana
What are the Challenges of income transfer scheme?
Targeting the Real Beneficiary:
Ideally, the money should go to the real tiller. But in large parts of the country, there is no record of tenancy.
The government data shows only 10% tenancy in the country while several micro-level studies indicate that it could be anywhere between 25-30%.
Identification issues:
The other issue is identifying the landless labourers working on farms as majority of them are temporary and seasonal workers.
This leaves the task of identification to panchayats which can open doors for large leakages and corruption
Short-term solution:
Income transfers are only palliative and cannot address the underlying problem, which is the non-remunerative nature of farming.
Transfer of income can lead to conspicuous consumption diverting money away from productive investments
Why is there a low record of tenancy in India?
The current law, favouring “land to the tiller”, is loaded against the owner.
As a result, much of tenancy in the country remains oral.
Hence, there is a need to change the tenancy laws, and open up land lease markets, ensuring that the owner of the land has full rights to take his land back after the expiry of the lease period
Way Forward
Information and persuasion campaigns:
Fully inform the tiller that the owner has got income support and then appeal to the owner to pass on this benefit to the tiller or adjust the rent accordingly
This would increase the chances of the benefits being passed on to the real tillers — or at least help the tenants to bargain on the terms of tenancy.
Creation of Umbrella Scheme by merging of Various Schemes:
Merging income support schemes, including the PM KISAN and state-level schemes, with the MGNREGA and price-subsidy schemes (food & fertilizer) to start a basic income cover for poor households
This approach can cover landless labourers, farmers, and poor consumers
Structural Changes to Agriculture: This includes the following
Rectifying messy land records
Getting rid of unscientific and unsustainable crop patterns,
Correcting market linkages that make the farmers vulnerable to exploitation by officials and middlemen
Ensuring adequate irrigation
Adoption of technology
Resolving conflict with wildlife, and
Adapting agriculture to changing weather and climate patterns.
