West Bengal’s Agriculture Push:
PM-KISAN, Crop Insurance, AgriStack & Natural Farming – ECONOMY
Why in News?
During the Paschimbanga Divas celebrations at Tarakeswar, Hooghly, the Prime Minister released the 23rd instalment of PM-KISAN and launched several agricultural initiatives in West Bengal, including crop insurance, AgriStack, natural farming and the PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana.
23rd PM-KISAN Instalment
More than ₹18,880
crore was transferred through Direct Benefit Transfer to over 9.44 crore
farmers, including around 2.18 crore women farmers. Since the
scheme’s launch in 2019, cumulative nationwide disbursement has exceeded ₹4.46
lakh crore.
PM-KISAN provides eligible landholding
farmer families with annual income support through direct transfer into their
bank accounts. It strengthens income security but is intended as supplementary
assistance rather than compensation for farm losses or a substitute for
agricultural reform.
Expansion of Crop-Risk
Protection
The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was launched in West
Bengal to provide protection against crop losses arising from natural
disasters, pests and adverse weather conditions. The programme seeks to reduce
farm-income volatility and prevent farmers from falling into debt after
climatic shocks.
Its effectiveness depends on:
- Accurate and timely crop-loss assessment
- Faster settlement of insurance claims
- Wider tenant-farmer and sharecropper coverage
- Reliable land and crop records
- Better coordination among states, insurers and banks
Agri Stack and Digital
Agriculture
Agri Stack was
introduced as part of the Digital Agriculture Mission. It seeks to
create an integrated digital system for agriculture-related services such as:
- Fertiliser distribution
- Kisan Credit Cards
- Direct Benefit Transfers
- Crop insurance
- Minimum Support Price procurement
- Personalised advisories
By linking verified farmer, land and crop
information, Agri Stack can improve targeting and reduce duplication. However,
safeguards are necessary to protect farmers’ data, prevent exclusion caused by
incorrect records and ensure access for farmers with limited digital literacy.
Natural Farming
Initiative
The National Mission
on Natural Farming was launched in West Bengal to encourage chemical-free
and ecosystem-based agriculture. Under the state’s 2026–27 plan, 346
natural-farming clusters covering 17,300 hectares are proposed, along with
Bio-Input Resource Centres and mobilisation of Krishi Sakhis.
Natural farming may help:
- Reduce dependence on expensive external inputs
- Improve soil biological activity
- Lower chemical residues
- Enhance long-term farm resilience
Nevertheless, the transition must be
supported through scientific validation, farmer training, market access and
protection against short-term yield uncertainty.
Integrated Approach to
Farmer Welfare
The initiatives
represent a movement from isolated farm support toward an integrated
agricultural policy framework:
i.
Income
support through PM-KISAN
ii.
Risk
protection through crop insurance
iii.
Digital
delivery through Agri Stack
iv.
Ecological
sustainability through natural farming
v.
Regional
productivity improvement through PM
Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana
Such convergence can improve farmer
welfare only when accompanied by irrigation, storage, extension services,
remunerative markets and diversification toward high-value agriculture.
PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri
Kisan Samman Nidhi)
i.
Launched: 24 February 2019
ii.
Type: Central Sector Scheme
iii.
Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare
iv.
Objective: To provide assured income support to eligible
landholding farmer families.
v.
Benefit: ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments of
₹2,000 through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
vi.
Funding
Pattern: 100% funded by the
Government of India.
vii.
Exclusion: Institutional landholders, income-tax payers,
constitutional post holders, serving/retired government employees (subject to
notified conditions), professionals, etc.
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima
Yojana (PMFBY)
i.
Launched: 2016
ii.
Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare
iii.
Objective: To provide financial protection against crop
loss due to natural calamities, pests and diseases.
iv.
Farmer
Premium:
·
Kharif Crops
– 2%
·
Rabi Crops –
1.5%
·
Commercial/Horticultural
Crops – 5%
v.
Remaining
premium is shared by the Centre and States.
vi.
Covers:
·
Prevented
sowing
·
Standing
crop losses
·
Localised
calamities
·
Post-harvest
losses (specified crops)
Agri Stack
i.
A digital
agricultural ecosystem under the Digital Agriculture Mission.
ii.
Integrates:
·
Farmer
Registry
·
Geo-referenced
land records
·
Crop
information
·
Digital
identity of farmers
iii.
Enables
better delivery of:
·
PM-KISAN
·
Crop
Insurance
·
Kisan Credit
Card
·
MSP
procurement
·
Agricultural
advisories
·
Challenge: Data privacy, digital exclusion and
interoperability of State databases.
National Mission on
Natural Farming (NMNF)
- Approved
in 2024 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
- Objective: Promote sustainable, chemical-free
agriculture using locally available bio-inputs.
- Focuses
on:
·
Soil health
restoration
·
Reduced
input cost
·
Climate-resilient
agriculture
·
Farmer
capacity building
iv.
Promotes
preparation of:
·
Jeevamrit
·
Beejamrit
·
Ghan Jeevamrit
·
Mulching and
soil microbial activity
Direct Benefit Transfer
(DBT)
- Introduced
to ensure direct transfer of government benefits into beneficiaries' bank
accounts.
- Based
on the JAM Trinity:
·
Jan Dhan
Accounts
·
Aadhaar
·
Mobile
Connectivity
iii.
Objectives:
·
Reduce
leakages
·
Improve
transparency
·
Ensure
timely delivery of subsidies and welfare benefits
Digital Agriculture
Mission
- Aims to
modernise Indian agriculture through digital technologies.
- Key
components include:
·
AgriStack
·
AI-based
crop advisory
·
Remote
sensing
·
GIS mapping
·
Precision
farming
·
Digital land
records