Chhattisgarh: Farmers’ income has grown as a result of the state government’s inclusion of horticulture crops in the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana (RGKNY). According to this policy, if a farmer cultivates a horticultural crop instead of paddy in Kharif 2020-21 , he will be eligible for a subsidy of Rs 10,000 per acre. If a farmer is not previously registered in paddy cultivation and is planting a horticultural crop in Kharif 2021, he would receive an input assistance payment of Rs. 9000 per acre.
On the suggestion of Horticulture Department authorities, farmer Annapurna Devi Sahu of village Kuruwar in Block Kota began cultivating papaya under this initiative. Annapurna’s 25 acres of land were historically used for paddy cultivation. She decided to produce papaya instead of paddy on 15 acres of land following the advice from Horticulture Department experts and planted 1200 saplings per acre.
Altogether, she has planted 18,000 papaya saplings.
By shipping papaya to the mandis, Annapurna has sold roughly 125 quintals so far. As a result, she has received an income of Rs. 2 lakh.
CM at cabinet meeting in May decided to broaden the scope of the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana and include all main Kharif crops, including maize, soyabean, sugarcane, kodo-kutki, pulses, and paddy in the policy.