6k farmers got Rs 24cr aid under PM Kisan Samman: Sawant

Bicholim: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Saturday that so far, around 6,000 farmers in Goa have received Rs 24 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. On Aug 2, another Rs 1.2 crore will be deposited in the farmers’ bank accounts, with each farmer receiving Rs 1.2 lakh by Saturday, he said.

Sawant was addressing farmers at a special programme under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana at Ravindra Bhavan, Sanquelim.

“Today, while giving these farmers a dignified life, credit card facilities have been provided by which any farmer can take a loan of at least Rs 1 lakh from banks without mortgaging their farms. If any bank is refusing to give this loan to farmers, they should directly contact the divisional agriculture officer in their area or their office and get a loan for themselves,” he said.

The CM said the income from Goa’s horticulture sector has significantly increased. Goa is now exporting vegetables instead of importing them, which is a major achievement of this govt that respects and supports farmers.

Around 16,000 farmers in Goa were registered under the Kisan credit card. However, after 10,000 cards were cancelled due to clan land issues, now only around 6,000 farmers benefit from central govt schemes, he said.

He also said govt is implementing schemes to modernise and support farmers, and many are taking advantage of these schemes. Many youth are focusing on various courses in the agricultural sector, implementing various experiments in agriculture.