What is the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)? – A traditional farming improvement programme, PMKY was launched in 2015. It is an extended component of Soil Health Management (SHM) under the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).
With the help of PKVY, the government aims to support and promote:
- Organic farming
- Reduction in dependence on fertilizers and agricultural chemicals
- Improvement of the soil health while increasing the yields.
- Organic food, thus produced will be linked with modern marketing tools and local markets.
The revamped PKVY promotes organic farming through the adoption of an organic village by cluster approach and the Participatory Guarantee System of certification.
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Important Facts about PKVY for UPSC
As per the official website of PKVY, https://pgsindia-ncof.gov.in/, there are 315 regional councils active under the scheme. Around 8.89 lakh farmers are associated with the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, and around 5.31 lakh hectares of area is under organic farming in the country.
Funding pattern:
The funding pattern under the scheme is in the ratio of 60:40 by the Central and State Governments respectively. In the case of North Eastern and the Himalayan States, Central Assistance is provided in the ratio of 90:10 (Centre: State).
Objectives:
- The objective is to produce agricultural products free from chemicals and pesticides residues by adopting eco-friendly, low- cost technologies. Key Thrust areas of PKVY in promoting organic farming include the following:
- Promote organic farming among rural youth/ farmers/ consumers/ traders
- Disseminate the latest technologies in organic farming
- Utilize the services of experts from the public agricultural research system in India
- Organize a minimum of one cluster demonstration in a village
The May 2019 edition of the Kurukshetra Magazine detailed organic farming, notes of which can be found in the linked article.
Implementation of the programme:
- PKVY is being implemented by the Organic Farming cell of the Integrated Nutrient Management (Division) of the Department of Agriculture; Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW)
- At the State level, the State Department of Agriculture and Cooperation has been implementing the scheme with the involvement of Regional Councils that are registered under the PGS- India Certification Programme
- At the district level, the Regional Councils (RCs) within the district anchor the implementation of PKVY.
The government schemes form part of UPSC Mains GS 2. Questions are asked from such schemes asking about the implementing agency, type of scheme (Centrally-sponsored or centrally-sector), institutional framework or the current affairs related to the scheme. Hence, candidates should cover schemes based on this information.
Check UPSC Previous Year Question Papers to get an idea of the sort of questions asked from government schemes.
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