March 5th,2020

Topic:- Scheme

What is the news?

• Scheme to protect crops from animals evokes a poor response.

• 5 per cent subsidy fails to find favour with farmers.

What is this Scheme?

• Under the Mukhya Mantri Khet Sanrakshan Yojana, electric fencing is provided for fields which gives mild shocks to animals coming in contact without hurting them. This only acts as a psychological barrier for them.
• The ambitious Mukhya Mantri Khet Sanrakshan Yojana launched to protect standing crops from monkeys and wild animals by providing electric fencing.
• 80 to 85 per cent subsidy and modification in the scheme to integrate barbed wires and chain links.

About its impact:-

• The scheme launched in 2016-17 had a provision of 60 per cent subsidy, which was increased to 80 per cent for individual farmers and 85 per cent for a group of three or more farmers but they were not enthused. So far, only 3,176 farmers have benefited from the scheme, including 1,230 during the current financial year till January 2020, and 1,160 during 2018-19. A provision of Rs 35 crore was made for the scheme during 2019-20.
• The scheme was modified in August 2019 to integrate barbed wires and chain-link fencing and a provision of 50 per cent subsidy was provided for barbed wires and chain-link fence and 70 per cent subsidy under the modified scheme for barbed wires and chain-link fencing.

What is the challenge shared by farmers?

• Farmers complain that the cost of the scheme is too high and even after providing 80 to 85 per cent subsidy it is unaffordable for small and marginal farmers. The monkey and wild animal menace has become a big problem in the state and electric and solar fencing is considered to be an effective measure to protect crops, which is not possible manually.

(Source:-The Tribune)

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