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Subject: Agricultural Economics × Author: Bhadwal, Shiwani × Start date: 2020 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    A study of the socio-economic profile of PM-KISAN beneficiaries in District Kangra (HP)
    (Palampur, 2021-10-26) Bhadwal, Shiwani; Kumar, Virender
    The development in agriculture sector has always been viewed in terms of boosting output and enhancing food security, rather than the welfare of farmers. The hardships in terms of low income and limited access to cheaper credit have resulted in interminable agony in this sector, resulting in an upsurge in the number of farmer suicides. The governments over time, have granted various subsidies to farmers to supplement their incomes. This approach, however, has introduced new challenges in agricultural policy making due to inefficiencies and high transaction costs in social welfare programmes. These challenges have shifted the focus of agricultural policy to a new horizon, notably Direct Income Support (DIS). The Central Sector Scheme, "Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)” is a momentous step in this direction. The present study was carried out in district Kangra (H.P.) to gain an understanding of the socio-economic profile and fund utilization pattern of PM-KISAN beneficiaries. Three stage random sampling technique was used for the selection of blocks, panchayats and farmers. And a sample of 80 farmers was drawn randomly from the selected villages which were further categorized in small (28) and marginal (52) categories on the basis of total size of land holding using cumulative cube root frequency method. The findings of study revealed that the average holding size on marginal and small farms was 0.1819 ha and 0.9914 ha, respectively. The sample households reared on an average 1.44 farm animals, which was slightly higher on small farms (2.14/farm) than on marginal farms (1.06/farm). The farm income accounted for 32.25 per cent of total household income, with crops accounting for 22.93 per cent and livestock accounting for 9.32 per cent when compared to non-farm income (67.75%). All sample respondents possessed basic necessities, with small farmers having a slightly higher availability of durable goods than marginal farmers. The scheme was reported to have 100.00 per cent coverage of the sample respondents. The amount of fund spent on farm activities (crop and livestock) in the year 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 was found to be 81.28 per cent, 69.61 per cent and 55.01 per cent of the total amount, respectively. Furthermore, farmers who received PM-KISAN benefits during the agricultural peak season reported spending it on agriculture, while those who received it during the off-season spent it on consumption. The fund utilization pattern of marginal farmers differed significantly from small farmers. Of the total fund received, 47.64 per cent of the fund was used for tractor hiring charges followed by purchase of fertilizers (24.31%), seeds (21.13%) and pesticides (6.98%) on sample farms. The most common crop production, institutional and marketing challenges in the study area were stray animals, lack of training facilities and lack of marketing extension services, respectively. Based on the findings it is suggested that the government should preferably release and restructure installment amounts keeping in view the seasonal needs of the farmers. Along with this, the enhancement of entitlement and provision of skillbuilding trainings to farmers are the potential areas that need to be worked upon