Context:
On July 30, 2025, the Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced in the Lok Sabha that tenant farmers can now avail benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement if authorised by the landowner and permitted by the state government.
Key Highlights:
- Inclusion of Tenant Farmers:
- Tenant farmers can now receive PMFBY benefits if the landowner provides written authorisation.
- Similarly, crops grown by tenant farmers can be procured at MSP with state government approval.
- Background Statistics:
- According to NSO’s 2018–19 survey, 17.3% of 101.98 million operational holdings were leased-in.
- Leased-in land constituted 13% of the total area under cultivation.
- However, many tenancy arrangements remain oral, potentially underestimating the actual figures.
- Expanded Access to FPOs:
- Tenant farmers and sharecroppers can now join Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).
- Recent Impact:
- Over 6.5 lakh tenant farmers have benefited under PMFBY.
- Around 42 lakh sharecroppers have received benefits under MSP procurement.
- Government’s Claims on Farmer Welfare:
- Minister claimed that reforms have doubled farmer incomes for many.
- â‚ą1.83 trillion worth of crop insurance claims settled under PMFBY.
- Subsidised fertilisers and record MSP procurements were also highlighted.
- Criticism of Past Governments:
- The UPA government was criticised for rejecting the Swaminathan Commission’s MSP formula recommendation (C2 + 50%).
Price Stabilisation Fund Concerns
- A Parliamentary Standing Committee flagged low budgetary allocation to the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF).
- Recommended a thorough, data-driven assessment considering population, volatility, and performance of current stabilisation mechanisms.
