80 percent increase in the number of farmers

The government of Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh, is running the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana’ to promote crop productivity and crop diversification along with giving reasonable prices to the farmers, due to which the number of farmers, cultivated area and crop productivity have been continuously increasing. Paddy procurement in Chhattisgarh has almost doubled in the last four years and the number of farmers has increased by more than 80 percent and paddy is being sown in 31.13 lakh hectares of land.

This year, 25 lakh 89 thousand farmers of the state have registered for selling paddy at Minimum Support Price in Chhattisgarh, which is the highest ever since the formation of the state which includes about 2 lakh 3 thousand new farmers. Other farmer-friendly schemes of the government including procurement of paddy at the support price have increased the enthusiasm towards farming in the state. The farmers moving away from the fields have returned to the fields and the area under cultivation has also increased. The area under paddy has increased to 31.13 lakh hectare this year. A target has been set to procure about 110 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in the year 2022-23.In the Kharif season 2021-22, 21 lakh 77 thousand 419 farmers had sold paddy on the support price, which is 1 lakh 23 thousand 820 more than the number of farmers selling paddy in the year 2020-21 which was 20 lakh 53 thousand 599. In the year 2021-22, a new record of purchasing 97.98 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was created and 24 lakh 5 thousand 274 farmers got registered to sell paddy. Farmers had planted paddy in 30 lakh 26 thousand 827 hectares area. In the year 2021-22, about 21 lakh 77 thousand 419 farmers had sold paddy. While in the year 2017-18, 12 lakh 6 thousand 264 farmers had sold paddy on the support price. Due to the farmer-friendly policies of the Bhupesh government, the number of farmers selling paddy has increased by 9 lakh 70 thousand 555 in four years.

27 percent increase in seed production

A continuous increase has been registered in the production of certified seeds in the state. In the year 2017-18, 7 lakh 68 thousand 980 quintals, in the year 2018-19, 8 lakh 97 thousand 237 quintals certified seeds were produced. In the year 2020-21, 9 lakh 78 thousand 132 quintals of certified seeds were produced, which is 27 percent more as compared to the year 2017-18. There is an estimate of 16 lakh 50 thousand quintal certified seed production in the year 2021-22. There is a target of producing 17 lakh 50 thousand certified seeds in the year 2022-23. Production started increasing due to the purchase of pulses at the support price On January 26, 2022, after purchasing paddy in the state, Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel had also announced to purchase pulses at the support price. The government has given a big option to increase the income in front of the farmers who are focused only on paddy crops, due to which the income of the farmers is sure to increase. The process of buying pulses has started already. The figures will come out soon. Along with production, there will also be a massive jump in productivity. Kharif: Paddy procurement in Chhattisgarh (Paddy Purchase in Metric Tonnes) 2017-18 56.88 lakh 2018-19 80.38 lakh 2019-20 83.94 lakh 2020-21 92.02 lakhs 2021-22 97.98 lakhs

Area, production and productivity of KHARIF CROPS CEREAL 2018 2021 Area Covered (in Hectares) 4090 4188 Production (in Tons) 7481 10099 Productivity (kg/ha) 1829 2411 31.82 percent increase in productivity PULSES 2018 2021 Production (in Tons) 135 140 Productivity (kg/ha) 403 501 24.31 percent increase in productivity OILSEEDS 2018 2021 Productivity (kg/ha) 665 907 36.39 percent increase in productivity Area, Production and Productivity of RABI CROPS CEREAL 2018 2021 Area Covered (in Hectares) 451 519 Production (in Tons) 1092 1376 Productivity (kg/ha) 2423 2650 09.36 percent increase in productivity PULSES 2018 2021 Area coverage (in hectares) 712 823 Production (in tonnes) 557 656 Productivity (kg/ha) 780 797 02.17 percent increase in productivity OILSEEDS 2018 2021 Area coverage (in hectares) 209 236 Production (in tonnes) 99 145 Productivity (kg/ha) 474 613 29.32 percent increase in productivityFarmers got encouraged upon receiving benefits.

Shri Rajkumar Sinha, a farmer of Panduka village of Gariab and district, is now considering farming a profitable deal. He says that he has started getting more price for the crops than ever before. Two years ago, he used to cultivate paddy in 8 acres of land, now every year along with increasing crop production, he is also increasing cultivation. This year, he has planted crops on 11 acres of land. He says that the government has provided water to the fields, due to which he is doing wholesome farming. Last year about 200 quintal paddy was produced. Due to saving money, he wasn’t forced to take a loan for his child’s marriage, instead he got his child married with great pomp. Concerns over getting water from canal Shri Hemant Sahu is now cultivating paddy in 10 acres of land. He says that till two years back he was cultivating only 6 acres of land, but after getting water from the canal, he is producing good crop. Now, he is cultivating an excess land of over four acres. On an average, 20 quintals of crop is being produced in each acre. The maximum crop is being produced in Kharif season itself. Due to good profit, he has also built his own house and is also engaged in increasing agriculture. Increasing crop production by taking fields from others Shri Tarachand Yadav has only half an acre of field, in which he used to produce crops, but now he is taking another’s field and growing the crop. Seeing the profit in farming, he is now producing crops in four acres of land. Also, he is preparing for double crop. This will increase his income even more. 8 percent increase in oilseeds production In Chhattisgarh, oilseed crops are sown in 3% area in Kharif season and 16 percent in Rabi season. In the year 2017-18, 2.86 lakh metric tonnes of oilseeds were produced. 2.73 lakh metric tonnes were produced in the year 2018-19, 2.95 lakh metric tonnes in the year 2019-20, 2.75 lakh metric tonnes in the year 2020-21. Oilseeds production is estimated to be 3.10 lakh metric tonnes in the year 2021-22, which is estimated to be 8 percent higher than the year 2017-18. In the year 2022-23, it is proposed to produce 4.38 lakh metric tonnes of oilseed crops by sowing pulses in an area of 5.91 lakh hectares. Special efforts are being made to promote pulses, oilseeds and maize crops instead of summer paddy through ‘Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana’. Irrigated area increased due to the construction of minimum irrigation ponds In Chhattisgarh, between 2018-19 and 2020-21, 1975 minimum irrigation ponds were constructed in three years, due to which additional irrigation facility was expanded in 5 thousand 850 hectares area. In the year 2018-19, an area of 1500 hectares was expanded by construction of 50 minimum irrigation ponds. With the construction of 60 minimum irrigation ponds in the year 2019-20 and 85 in the year 2020-21, irrigation facilities have been expanded in 1800 and 2550 hectares of area respectively. In the year 2022-23, setting a target of 100 ponds, additional irrigation area is proposed in 3000 hectares area. Promotion of rice export In order to encourage rice exports in Chhattisgarh, better results are coming out from the decision to completely waive the mandi fee and farmer’s fee from the purchase of paddy in the mandis. Farmers are getting a higher price of Rs. 250-300 per quintal on the sale of summer paddy. Summer paddy is being sold at more than the support price. At present, summer paddy is being sold in the mandis at the rate of Rs.1800-1950 per quintal. In order to encourage the export of rice, Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel had decided to completely waive market fee and farmers’ welfare fee from July 12, 2022, on the export of processed rice from purchased paddy through mandis, as a result of which the seller farmers are getting the price of 1800 to 1950 rupee more for the rabi crop paddy which is more than the support price. This year, during the period from July 22 to August 15, 2022, farmers have received an amount of Rs. 55 crore 90 lakh more at the rate of about 18 lakh 53 thousand quintals in the mandis of the state, which directly benefited 92 thousand 650 farmers of the state. It has been found that there has been a significant increase in the number of paddy-producing farmers and the paddy productivity itself in the state.