Rs 25kcr Plan To Encourage Farm Production Says Pawar

Amid worries over reducing food stocks and slow farm growth, the Centre has undertaken an ambitious Rs 25,000 crore plan to plough more funds into farms to improve agriculture output across the country. Under the scheme, the Centre will approve matching grants to states that make additional allocations for agri sector, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said. The exercise is targeted at attaining 4% growth in the agriculture and allied sectors, Mr Pawar said. The idea is to boost and incentivise states to take extra efforts to boost agriculture. The government also desires to accelerate implementation of the scheme in the wake of recent reports about impending food shortage.