GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE) LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 243 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10th JULY, 2019 SETTING UP OF A BRANCH OF SPICES BOARD *243. SHRI K. NAVASKANI: Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (वािण�यएवं उ�ोग मं�ी ) be pleased to state: (a)whether the Government proposes to set up a branch of Spices Board at Paramakudi in Tamil Nadu considering very high production of Chilli and Pepper at Paramakudi; (b)if so, the details thereof; and (c)if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER okf.kT; ,oa m|ksx ea=h ( Jh ih;w’k xks;y ) THE MINISTER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL) (a)to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. ***** STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (c)OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 243 FOR ANSWER ON 10th JULY,2019 REGARDING “SETTING UP OF A BRANCH OF SPICES BOARD”. (a)&(b): There is no proposal to set up a branch of Spices Board at Paramakudi in Tamil Nadu. (c): Spices Board is a Statutory Organization set up under the Spices Board Act,1986 for the development of export of spices and for the control of cardamom industry including the control of cultivation of cardamom and matters connected therewith. The mandate for production, development, research and domestic marketing of spices other than cardamom is with the State Agriculture/ Horticulture Departments and the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. At present, the Spices Board has three Regional Offices at Chennai, Bodinayakanur and Erode. Two Quality Evaluation Laboratories at Chennai,Thoothukudy and Spices Park at Sivaganga are functioning in the State of Tamil Nadu. The Board has also established Spice Development Agency at the Regional Office, Erode. The Board’s offices are also functioning at Salem, Nagarcoil and Thadiyankudisai. The Board has also established the Regional Research Station of Indian Cardamom Research Institute (ICRI) at Thadiyankudisai and an e- auction centre for cardamom at Bodinayakanur. The Board is implementing its various programmes in the State of Tamil Nadu including Paramakudi region through these offices. Therefore, there is no proposal for setting up of a branch of the Spices Board at Paramakudiin Tamil Nadu. **** GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE) LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 253 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10th JULY, 2019 AGRICULTURAL EXPORT *253. SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU: DR. SUJAY RADHAKRISHNA VIKHE PATIL: Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (वािण�यएवं उ�ोग मं�ी ) be pleased to state: (a)whether there is a huge potential for agricultural export to boost the agriculture, horticulture, plantation,fisheries, sugar and dairy sectors and if so, the details thereof; (b)whether the Government proposes to identify districts possessing potential for particular industries and items for development as clusters in order to develop that sector, especially in Maharashtra and if so, the details thereof; (c)whether some countries have evinced interest in investing in India’s agriculture sector and if so, the details thereof; (d)the extent to which it is likely to be helpful to fetch good price for agricultural produce; and (e)the other steps taken/being taken by the Government to increase the income of farmers and the extent of success achieved therefrom so far? ANSWER okf.kT; ,oa m|ksx ea=h ( Jh ih;w’k xks;y ) THE MINISTER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL) (a)to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. ***** STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e ) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 25 3 FOR ANSWER ON 10th JULY,2019 REGARDING “AGRICULTURAL EXPORT”. (a) India, with a large and diverse agriculture, is among the world’s leading producer of cereals, milk, sugar, fruits and vegetables, spices, eggs and seafood products. Recent growth rates show that agri-food productionis rising faster than growth in domestic demand, and volume of surplus for export is witnessing accelerated growth. This offers scope and opportunity for capturing overseas markets to earn foreign exchange and enable producers to earn higher prices for farm produce. (b) Under the Agriculture Export Policy, several unique product-district clusters have been identified for a more focused pre and post-harvest management of the production as well as for upgrading the supply chain to attain much higher levels of export from these clusters. These clusters have been identified based on the existing production contributing to exports, exporters operations, scalability of operations, size of export market / India’s share, awareness about SPS requirements, and potential for increase in export in short term. The list of such clusters, including the clusters identified in Maharashtra, is at Annexure-I. (c) The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has signed 65 MoUs with 61 countries in the field of agriculture andits allied sectors. The areas for cooperation in these MoUs/Agreements inter alia include enhancing investment in agriculture, cooperation in research and development, increasing productivity, enhancing trade, post-harvest management, value-addition/food processing, plant protection, animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries. During the G20 Summit meeting held in Argentina, the Saudi Crown Prince had expressed to ramp up investments in India through Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Agriculture is one of theareas among others, where Saudi Crown Prince has shown interest. (d) Investments in the agriculture sector in the areas of Research & Development, development of infrastructure and marketing would result in increase in productivity, quality fetching better price for the produce. (e) The Government is taking a number of measures to increase the income of farmers. In the Minimum Support Price (MSP) policy announced in 2018-19 season, the farmers are assured of a minimum of 50 percent as margin of profit. Government has been implementing/reorienting various schemes for betterment of agriculture sector with four key elements: reducing input costs; ensuring fair price for the produce; reducing wastage; and creating alternate sources of income. Some of the major initiatives of the Government towards welfare of the farmers are Soil Health Cards (SHC), production and availability of quality seeds, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), e- National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD), National Dairy Plan- I (NDP-I), Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS), Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund Scheme (DIDF), Supporting Dairy Cooperative and Farmer Producer Organizations engaged in dairy activities (SDCFPO), Blue Revolution etc. Moreover, Government is alsopromoting allied activities like dairying, poultry, beekeeping and fisheries, which will mitigate risks associated with dependence on agricultural crops through income supplementation. The Government has also approved a new Umbrella Scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan’ (PM-AASHA). The Scheme is aimed at ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce as announced in the Union Budget for 2018, which envisages scaling up procurement significantly from the current Kharif marketing season. In the Interim Budget 2019-20, a new programme named “Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)” was announced. Under this programme, vulnerable landholding farmer families, having cultivable land up to 2 hectares, were to be provided direct income support at the rate of Rs. 6,000 per year. Now, all the landholding farmers in the country (subject to certain exclusions) have been brought under purview of the scheme. ***** Annexure-I List of Clusters Product Region State District Kerala Thrissur, Wayanad, Thiruvananthapuram Andhra Pradesh Kadapa, Anantapur South Banana Tamil Nadu Trichy, Theni, Pollachi Maharashtra Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Solapur West Gujarat Bharuch, Narmada, Surat Andhra Pradesh Anantapur, Kurnool South Karnataka Belgaum, Mysore Pomegranate West Maharashtra Solapur, Ahmednagar, Pune Central Madhya Pradesh Khargone, Khandwa, Burhanpur Maharashtra Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg West Gujarat Junagarh, Valsad, Kutch, Navsari Mango North Uttar Pradesh Saharanpur, Meerut, Lucknow Telangana Rangareddy, Mehboobnagar, Warangal South Andhra Pradesh Krishna, Chittoor, Kurnool Grapes West Maharashtra Pune, Nasik, Sangli Rose Onion South Karnataka Bangalore Rural, Chikkaballapura West Maharashtra Nasik Onion Central Madhya Pradesh Indore, Sagar, Damoh Uttar Pradesh Agra, Farukkabad North Punjab Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Navashehar Potato West Gujarat Banaskantha, SabarKantha Central Madhya Pradesh Indore, Gwalior Tea East Assam Tinsukia, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh Coffee South Karnataka Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Hassan South Andhra Pradesh East Godavari, Vishakapatnam, West Godavari, Nellore Marine products East Odisha Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Balasore West Gujarat Kutch, Veraval, Navasari, Valsad Telangana Khammam, Warangal Chilli South Andhra Pradesh Guntur Telangana Nizamabad, Karimnagar South Kerala Wayanad, Alleppy Turmeric East Meghalaya West Jaintia Hills East Odisha Kandhamal West Gujarat Banaskantha, Mehsana Cumin North Rajasthan Jalore, Jodhpur, Barmer, Nagaur, Pali South Kerala Wayanad Pepper South Karnataka Chikmagalur Cardamom South Kerala Idukki Isabgol North Rajasthan Jodhpur, Nagaur,