Shrinking farm sizes a challenge in India

Stressing that shrinking farm sizes is a challenge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said there is a need to increase the collective power of small farmers who account for more than 80 per cent of the farming community with new facilities in the coming years. Small farmers have less than two hectares of land. Additionally, farm holdings are getting smaller and smaller in villages with rise in population and division in families, he said during his Independence Day speech. Unlike the previous regime, the current government is bringing farm reforms and programmes with focus on small farmers, he said, adding that schemes like PM-KISAN and Fasal Bima Yojana will strengthen these cultivators. Asserting that his dream is to make small farmers the pride of the country, the Prime Minister said, "In the coming years, we will have to increase the collective power of the small farmers of the country. They have to be given new facilities." The government will run a campaign to set up warehouse facilities at the block level, he said. "Chota Kisan bane desh ki shaan! It is our dream, our mantra that small farmers become the pride of the country," he asserted.

Stressing on the need to focus on major challenges facing the agriculture sector, the Prime Minister said, "One challenge is the shrinking farm sizes in villages." More than 80 per cent of the farmers in the country have less than two hectares of land. But the earlier policies did not focus on small farmers, he said. "Now, keeping these farmers in mind, farm policies and reforms are being made," he said, highlighting the programmes being implemented for empowering small farmers. Be it reforms in Fasal Bima Yojana, increasing the minimum support price (MSP) by 1.5 times (the cost of production), linking farmers with Kisan Credit Card (KCC) for cheaper farm loans, taking solar power schemes till farm land or setting up of Farmer Producers Organisations (FPOs) -- all these efforts will strengthen small farmers, he added.