The Union Cabinet approved the “Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana” for a period of six years, beginning with 2025–26 to cover 100 districts.

Background

• The PM-DDKY, announced in the Budget earlier this year, aims at increasing agricultural productivity and sustainable practices with an annual outlay of ₹24,000 crore.
• The scheme draws inspiration from NITI Aayog’s Aspirational District Programme.
• The scheme will be implemented through the convergence of 36 existing schemes across 11 Central Departments.

About Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana

• Aim:  To uplift 100 districts with low agricultural productivity, low cropping intensity, and limited credit access.
• Objectives:
  • Enhance agricultural productivity.
  • Promote crop diversification and sustainable agricultural practices.
  • Augment post-harvest storage at the panchayat and block levels.
  • Improve irrigation infrastructure.
  • Facilitate availability of long-term and short-term credit.
• It is the first scheme focused exclusively on agriculture and allied sectors.
• Implementation Strategy: 
  • It will also involve State schemes and local partnerships with the private sector.
• District Selection Criteria
  • 100 districts will be identified based on: Low productivity
    • Low cropping intensity
    • Less credit disbursement
  • The number of selected districts per State/UT will be based on:
    • Share of Net Cropped Area
    • Operational holdings
  • At least one district will be selected from every State and Union Territory.

Planning and Implementation

• Committees will be established at the District, State, and National levels.
• A District Agriculture and Allied Activities Plan will be finalized by the District Dhan Dhaanya Samiti, which will include progressive farmers.
• District Plans will align with national goals such as:
  • Crop diversification
  • Water and soil conservation
  • Self-sufficiency in agriculture and allied sectors
  • Expansion of natural and organic farming

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Progress in each Dhan-Dhaanya district will be tracked using 117 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• A Digital dashboard will provide updates on a monthly basis.
• Central Nodal Officers will be appointed for each district to review implementation.
• NITI Aayog will also review and guide the District Plans.

Expected Outcomes

• Improvement in productivity and value addition in agriculture and allied sectors.
• Creation of local livelihoods.
• Increase in domestic production and move towards self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat).
• As performance improves in these 100 districts, national indicators will also trend upward.

Challenges to Implementation

• Federal Coordination Issues: Significant differences exist between central and state government systems, posing a challenge to seamless federal coordination.
• Farmer Identification Gaps: While Aadhaar ID is central to the database, it is insufficient for complete farmer identification. 
  • Many farmers possess Aadhaar cards but lack land records, some have land records but no Aadhaar, and others lack both. These digitisation gaps must be addressed comprehensively.
• Technological Barriers: The scheme’s reliance on technology faces hurdles such as limited internet access in many rural areas and prevailing digital illiteracy among a segment of the farming population.
• Complexity of Integration: Bringing together diverse schemes with varying operational guidelines and integrating them into a unified system is an inherently complex task

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