Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Significance, Eligibility

For the UPSC IAS exam, the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY Scheme) is very important because it covers a significant portion of the General Studies Paper-2 syllabus in UPSC prelims including government schemes and current events of national relevance. This article will cover the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana Scheme, also known as the RKVY-Raftaar scheme, including its background, objectives, essential characteristics, critical components, funding patterns, major sectors services, relevance, sub-schemes, and the most recent advancements.

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

The Government of India launched the centrally sponsored Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) in 2007. Its principal aim is to provide states and union territories with financial support to promote agriculture and related industries.

The following are the salient features of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) scheme:

• Initiated by the Indian government in 2007.
• Started as a reaction to the 2005 National Development Council (NDC) resolution that promoted an all-encompassing and integrated strategy for agricultural growth.
• Aimed to address issues facing the agriculture industry, including as low productivity, declining farm incomes, and growing input costs.
• It was put into effect using a three-tiered framework that included the district-level planning committees, state governments, and the central Ministry of Agriculture.

Significance of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

The importance of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) is discussed here.

• RKVY-RAFTAAR provides farmers with financial support to enable them to use improved techniques and cutting-edge technologies, which in turn promotes higher agricultural productivity.
• Increasing agricultural output with RKVY-RAFTAAR results in higher farmer earnings.
• The program makes it easier to launch new agribusiness projects and grow already existing ones, which could lead to the creation of jobs in the agriculture sector.
• RKVY-RAFTAAR promotes the use of integrated pest management and organic farming as examples of sustainable agriculture practices.
• RKVY-RAFTAAR helps to improve food security nationwide by promoting sustainable practices and attempting to increase agricultural productivity.

Important Components of the RKVY Scheme

The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) Scheme’s primary components include:

• Crop Production: Provides farmers with financial support to implement new technology and enhanced techniques, such as integrated pest management, precision farming, and high-yielding seed varieties.
• Animal Husbandry: Offers farmers financial support to increase livestock productivity. This support includes help with creating fodder, obtaining improved animal breeds, and setting up veterinary clinics.
• Horticulture: Provides farmers with financial support to help develop and promote horticulture crops. This support includes help with nursery establishment, irrigation facility improvements, and marketing horticultural produce.
• Fisheries: Provides financial support for the development of aquaculture, the purchase of fishing boats and equipment, and the marketing of fish products to increase productivity and income for fishermen.
• Agro-processing: Offers financial support to farmers and business owners to start and grow agro-processing facilities to add value to agricultural products and create jobs in the agricultural industry.

Objectives of RKVY RAFTAAR Scheme

By strengthening farmer efforts, reducing risks, and encouraging agricultural entrepreneurship, the RKVY-RAFTAAR program seeks to turn farming into a lucrative economic activity.

Some of the scheme’s main goals are as follows:

1. Encouraging farmers to make well-informed decisions by providing them with access to quality inputs, storage, market facilities, and other necessities for pre- and post-harvest agricultural infrastructure.
2. Allowing states to create and carry out programs on local and regional needs while maintaining their autonomy and flexibility.
3. Promoting farming models with value chain addition linked to raising farmers’ incomes and improving output and productivity.
4. Generating extra revenue through risk-reduction initiatives for farmers, like integrated farming, mushroom growing, beekeeping, aromatic plant cultivation, floriculture, etc.
5. Use several smaller plans to address national priorities.
6. Encouraging young people to get involved in agriculture by providing them with innovative, skill-development, and agri-entrepreneurship-based models.

Features of the RKVY Scheme

The following are the salient features of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) program:

• RKVY is a State Plan project, meaning that states are in charge of creating and carrying out the plan.
• It provides flexibility, enabling states to alter the program according to their unique needs.
• RKVY includes a wide range of activities, including fisheries, horticulture, animal husbandry, crop production, and agro-processing, all of which contribute to the overall growth of the agricultural industry.
• To maximize its impact, the program encourages convergence with other government efforts, such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
• The central government provides funding for RKVY, with matching contributions from the states.

Eligibility for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

Below are the eligibility criteria for the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) scheme:

• All farmers can participate in the program, regardless of the amount of their landholding.
• All members of the rural community who work in agriculture are eligible for it.
• States carry out the implementation, and each state may have different qualifying requirements.
• However, there are a few general requirements to be eligible for the RKVY scheme, including being an Indian resident.
  -Have a legitimate land record with you.
  -Performance of agricultural tasks.

Pattern of Funding under the RKVY Scheme

For the system, the funding ratio between the federal government and state governments is 60:40; however, for states in the northeast and Himalayas, it is 90:10. For Union territories, the whole cost is borne by the federal government.

Under the initiative, the Central Government would distribute funding to each qualified state according to the following weights and parameters- Process for Distributing RKVY Funds to the States

Sectors covered under the RKVY-Raftaar scheme

The RKVY Raftaar scheme encompasses various vital sectors across the country, such as:

• Agriculture and Horticulture
• Fisheries and Animal Husbandry
• Education, Research, and Development of Dairy Products
• Wildlife and Forests
• Plantations and Agricultural Marketing
• Food Holding and Preservation
• Conservation of Water and Soil
• Agricultural Finance Institutions, in addition to various agricultural initiatives and partnerships

Sub-Schemes under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

For better understanding, the following is an explanation of the implementation of some of the significant sub-schemes under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana:

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