Punjab ranks second in average monthly income per agricultural household
Punjab E News: Punjab ranks second across the country as far as average monthly income per agricultural household is concerned. This has been revealed in a data produced by Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in the ongoing winter session of Rajya Sabha.
The Union Minister gave this information in reply to a question about income of farmers asked by Sanjeev Arora, MP (Rajya Sabha). As per his data, Meghalaya tops across the country with average monthly income per agricultural household (Rs.29,348). Income on in other states is as under: Punjab (Rs.26,701), Haryana (Rs.22,841), Arunachal Pradesh (Rs.19,225), Jammu & Kashmir (Rs.18,918), Group of UTs (Rs.18,511), Mizoram (Rs.17,964), Kerala (Rs.17,915), Group of NE States (Rs.16,863), Uttarakhand (Rs.13,552), Karnataka (Rs.13,441), Gujarat (Rs.12,631), Rajasthan (Rs.12,520), Sikkim (Rs.12,447), Himachal Pradesh (Rs.12,153), Tamil Nadu (Rs.11,924), Maharashtra (Rs.11,492), Manipur (Rs.11,227), Assam (Rs.10,675), Andhra Pradesh (Rs.10,480), Tripura (Rs.9,918), Nagaland (9,877), Chhattisgarh (Rs.9,677), Telangana (Rs.9,403), Madhya Pradesh (Rs.8,339), Uttar Pradesh (Rs.8,061), Bihar (Rs.7,542), West Bengal (Rs.6,762), Odisha (Rs.5,112) and Jharkhand (Rs.4,895).
Arora said, “If we consider States dependent maximum on cash crops Punjab would rank first, adding that Meghalaya has major share of horticulture and fruits. He, therefore, urged the Punjab farmers to go for more diversification of crops, horticulture & fruits.
He added important crops produced in Punjab include rice, wheat, maize, bajra, sugarcane, oilseeds, and cotton but rice and wheat alone constitute 80 per cent of the total gross cropped area.
Arora said Punjab Chief Minister Hon’ble Bhagwant Mann is trying his best to further improve condition of peasantry in the state. Citing an example, he said in October this year, the chief minister had announced to increase the price of sugarcane to Rs. 380 per quintal from the existing Rs.360 per quintal. This was done with a view to supplement the income of farmers. He said at present, sugarcane is cultivated on 1.25 lakh hectares of land in Punjab. Punjab Government is paying farmers on increase made in price of sugarcane.
He said the Punjab chief minister has already stated that there is a need for making the minimum support price (MSP) for crops a legal guarantee. The chief minister stated that during the national council meeting of NITI Aayog in the month of August this year, said Arora. Arora hoped that the results will be shown in the future as the state government is constantly working for further increasing income of farmers and making farming more profitable venture.