Why in News?
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman while presenting the Union Budget announced the launch of the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDKY).
- Aim - To enhance irrigation and land fertility by providing quality seeds and fertilizers to farmers in infertile, barren, and undeveloped agricultural land.
- Launched in – 2025.
- It will cover 100 districts based on 3 broad parameters- low productivity, moderate crop intensity, and below-average credit parameters.
- It draws inspiration from the Aspirational Districts Program.
The Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP), launched in 2018, aims to transform 112 under-developed districts across 28 states.
- Implemented by - Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, and the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Cropping intensity is a measure of how efficiently land is used, and it is defined as the percentage of the gross cropped area to the net area sown.
- Objectives
- Enhancing agricultural productivity
- Adopting crop diversification and sustainable agriculture practices
- Augmenting post-harvest storage at the panchayat and block level
- Improving irrigation facilities and
- Facilitating availability of long-term and short-term credit.
At the all-India level, the cropping intensity was recorded at 155% in 2021-22, while the Cropping intensity was only 111% in 1950-51.
References
- The Indian Express | Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana
- Times of India | PM Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana
