Bhildi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Centre has spent around Rs 16 lakh crore on fertiliser subsidies over the past several years to prevent farmers from bearing the burden of rising international fertiliser prices amid global uncertainty.
Addressing farmers at a gathering in Bhildi in Gujarat’s Banaskantha, PM Modi said international developments had led to sharp increases in fertiliser prices, but the government had absorbed the additional costs rather than passing them on to farmers.
“Over the past few years, amid global uncertainty, fertiliser prices have risen sharply. But our government, which is dedicated to farmers, did not allow this burden to fall on them. The government has spent around Rs 16 lakh crore on this,” he said.
Explaining the expenditure, PM Modi said the government had borne the additional financial burden to ensure farmers continued to receive fertilisers at affordable prices.
He said the objective is to protect farmers from the impact of international price fluctuations and prevent an increase in their cultivation costs.
The Prime Minister’s remarks formed part of a broader account of the government’s agricultural support measures during his address at the national-level PM Kisan Utsav Diwas programme.
He also said that the agriculture budget had increased more than fivefold compared with 2013-14 and that farmers had received or saved more than Rs 50 lakh crore through various government schemes and decisions.
Among the measures he cited were direct income support through PM-KISAN, fertiliser subsidies, minimum support prices, crop insurance and solar-powered irrigation.
“Fertiliser subsidies are particularly important because farmers depend on them for agricultural production and should not have to bear the full impact of rising global input costs,” he said.
The Centre’s fertiliser subsidy expenditure covers support extended to ensure that farmers can purchase key fertilisers at prices below their actual costs.
“Earlier governments were also deceiving farmers on the issue of MSP. But it is our government that has fulfilled the promise of MSP. In the last 12 years, Rs 24 lakh crore has gone into the accounts of wheat and paddy farmers as MSP,” he said.
He also cited more than Rs two lakh crore paid to farmers as crop insurance compensation over the past 10-12 years and the distribution of around 12 lakh solar pumps under the PM-KUSUM scheme.
The Prime Minister was in Gujarat on a two-day visit from Friday for programmes in Banaskantha and Ekta Nagar.
In Banaskantha, he also inaugurated the Bharat Bovine Breeding and Research Centre (BBBRC) and launched several projects related to agriculture, animal husbandry and infrastructure.
(IANS)
