Jharkhand announces Rs 2,250-crore scheme to help farmers

The state government will give Rs 5,000 per acre to 22.76 lakh medium and marginal farmers from the next financial year, Das said at a press conference here.

"Under the new Mukhya Mantri Krishi Yojana, Rs 2,250 crore will be spent. The scheme will start from the 2019-20 financial year," he said.

"Those farmers having less than one acre will also get Rs 5,000 and the upper limit is five acres," the chief minister said, adding that the beneficiaries will be given the money by way of cheque or through direct benefit transfer.

The new initiative has been taken to help farmers procure seeds, fertilisers and other requirements for agriculture purposes without depending on anybody, Das said, adding that beneficiaries can avail the money as per their choice of crop every year from the next fiscal.

The chief minister said the state government was already spending Rs 66 crore per annum for 14.85 lakh farmers under the Fasal Bima Yojana, besides providing farm loans at zero per cent interest.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a goal to double the income of farmers of the country by 2022. And keeping that in mind, the Jharkhand government is also taking steps to help the farmers of the state achieve the goal," Das said.

He added that agriculture has the potential to generate employment and the state government is arranging markets for the farm produce.