24th installment of PM Kisan Yojana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce the 24th installment of PM-Kisan Yojana from Banaskantha in Gujarat on Friday. Under this, 18,690 crore rupees will be directly transferred to the bank accounts of more than 9.34 crore farmers. According to a government statement, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will participate in the event from Raisen in Madhya Pradesh. During the programme, the Prime Minister will dedicate 521 units set up under the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) to the nation. Their aim is to strengthen agricultural storage, processing and related infrastructure. He will also inaugurate 12 horticulture clusters with the objective of promoting high value horticulture crops and increasing farmers’ income.

Heavy investment under Agri Infra Fund

Under the PM-Kisan scheme launched in February 2019, Rs 4.47 lakh crore has been disbursed to eligible farmers in 23 installments so far. Under this scheme, the eligible landholding farmer families will get Rs. 6,000 is given. This amount is sent through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to Aadhaar linked bank accounts. According to the statement, about Rs 1.75 lakh crore has been invested in over 2.28 lakh projects under the Agri Infra Fund. These funds help in the development of warehouses, cold storage facilities, primary processing centers and other infrastructure. The government says this will help reduce post-harvest losses, increase farmers’ market access and give them better profits.

Several schemes have been launched

The agriculture ministry also mentioned the government’s efforts to promote crop diversification towards horticulture. According to the ministry, developing the horticulture complex will strengthen the value chain and promote production and marketing of high-value crops. Mentioning the major programs launched for the agriculture sector in the last 12 years, the ministry mentioned Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Kisan Credit Card, Minimum Support Price (MSP) and more crops per drop. Apart from this, National Edible Oil Mission, Self-Reliance in Pulses Mission and National Natural Farming Mission were also mentioned. Under the Natural Farming Mission, packages are being developed to encourage sustainable farming practices. A large number of farmers of the area are expected to participate in this programme.