Involvement of Rural Youth in Agriculture

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA 

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH & EDUCATION 

LOK SABHA 

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4562 

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08/01/2019 

INVOLVEMENT OF RURAL YOUTH IN AGRICULTURE 

4562. SHRIMATI SANTOSH AHLAWAT

          SHRIMATI RAKSHATAI KHADSE

          SHRI SUNIL KUMAR SINGH 

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृषि और  किसान कल्याण मंत्री 

 be pleased to state: 

• (a) whether the Government has started schemes like Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) and Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana (READY) for attracting and engaging youth in agriculture and if so, the details thereof along with the enrolment details, State-wise; 

• (b) whether the Government has proposed and is developing ways in the field of agriculture which will provide employment opportunities to the youth thereby adding the income of farmers and if so, the details thereof; 

• (c) whether the Government has proposed and is taking steps for rural educated youth to remain involved in agricultural activities thereby reducing unemployment; 

• (d) whether ICAR proposes to set up institutes across the country to attract rural youth and make them aware of the latest technology and infrastructure development in agricultural activities and if so, the details thereof; 

• (e) whether Government has started Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) Centers in the country and if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and 

• (f) whether the Government is planning to open more ABI centers in the country including Jhunjhunu District of Rajasthan and Chatra, Latehar and Palamu District of Jharkhand and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? 

A N S W E R 

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE 

कृषि और  किसान कल्याण मंत्रालय मै राज्य मंत्री 

(SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT) 

(a) to (c): Yes, Madam. Realizing the importance of rural youth in agricultural development, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has initiated a program on “Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture” (ARYA) during the XII plan. Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) project is being implemented in 25 States through KVKs, one district from each State. Depending upon the type of enterprise, individual or group-based activities/enterprises are being encouraged. In one district, about 100-200 rural youths are identified for their skill development in entrepreneurial activities and establishment of related micro-enterprise units in the different areas of enterprises. The major enterprises being considered in the project include Apiary, Mushroom, Seed Processing, Poultry, Dairy, Goatry, Carp-hatchery, Vermi-compost etc., Under this project, operational costs to support critical inputs like seeds, fertilizers, small equipment are being provided to farm youth. This provides additional opportunities to the unemployed rural youth in primary and secondary agriculture and related enterprises. 

Under the project, upto 2017-18 9595 youths in various groups have been oriented for establishing micro-entrepreneurial units. State-wise list of KVKs and the number of youth oriented/ trained are placed herewith (Annexure-I). To strengthen it further, during the year 2018-19, the ARYA project is being extended to additional 75 KVKs. 

As an initiative to empower the youth in agricultural and allied subjects the Student Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana (READY) programme was started in 2015-16. Student READY is an essential course module for the award of degree at Bachelors level to ensure hands on training and practical experience depending on the requirements of respective discipline in Agricultural Universities. This is step forward for articulating education into entrepreneurship and employability. 

A financial support @ Rs 3000/- per student per month for maximum six months is also provided to the students. 

The Student READY program includes five components viz., Experiential Learning, Rural Awareness Works Experience (RAWE), In Plant Training/ Industrial attachment, Hands-on training, and Student Project. Details of the students enrolled under ‘Student READY’ state wise is attached (Annexure II). 

(d) No such proposal as of now. 

(e) “The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has started a network of 25 Agri-business Incubation (ABI) Centers in different states of the country (Annexure-III) under the National Agriculture Innovation Fund (NAIF) Scheme. These ABIs act as an effective platform for fostering the growth of sustainable business endeavour and nurturing the techno-entrepreneurs. The ABI centers provide a wide range of services such as research support; business planning; office space; access to information and communication technologies; and advice on management, marketing, technical, legal, and financial issues. 

(f) Under the NAIF Scheme ICAR is planning to establish 25 more ABI centers in different ICAR institutes, keeping in view the spectrum of technologies, available infrastructure and the core competency of the institutes. Establishment of ABI Centers at District level is beyond the scope of the NAIF Scheme. 

Annexure-I 

[Part (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha USQ No.4562 for 08/01/2019] 

State-wise and year-wise training programs conducted under ARYA project 

Sr. No.	State	Name of KVK	2015-16 to 2017-18
			No. of Training prgrams	No. of rural youth trained
1	2	3	4	5
I	ATARI, Ludhiana, Zone-I
1	Punjab	Bathinda	10	390
2	Himachal Pradesh	Hamirpur	10	292
	Uttarakhand	Haridwar	6	132
4	Jammu & Kashmir	Kathua	29	362
II	ATARI, Jodhpur, Zone-2
5	Haryana	Gurgaon	7	142
6	Rajasthan	Banswara	8	180
III	ATARI, Kanpur, Zone-3
7	Uttarpradesh	Muzaffarnagar	19	379
IV	ATARI, Patna, Zone-4
8	Bihar	East Champaran	4	83
9	Jharkhand	Gumla	25	753
V	ATARI, Kolkatta, Zone-5
10	West Bengal	Nimpith, South 24- Parganas	13	241
11	Odisha	Nayagarh, Panipola	14	405
VI	ATARI, Guwahati, Zone-6
12	Assam	KarbiAnglong	11	347
13	Sikkim	North Sikkim	11	255
VII	ATARI, Barapani, Meghalaya, Zone-7
14	Manipur	Senapati	8	290
15	Nagaland	Wokha	9	220
16	Mizoram	Lunglei	21	200
VIII	ATARI, Pune, Zone-8
17	Maharashtra	Nagpur	27	454
18	Gujarat	Rajkot	27	1073
IX	ATARI, Jabalpur, Zone-9
19	Chhattisgarh	Dantewada	35	600
20	Madhya Pradesh	Gwalior	39	600

Sr. No.	State	Name of KVK	2015-16 to 2017-18
			No. of Training prgrams	No. of rural youth trained
X	ATARI, Hyderabad, Zone-10
21	Andhra Pradesh	Nellore	7	420
22	Telengana	Nalgonda(Kampasagar)	13	604
23	Tamil Nadu	Kanyakumari	7	96
XI	ATARI, Bengaluru, Zone-11
24	Karnataka	Bengaluru-Rural	22	675
25	Kerala	Kannur	12	402
	Total		394	9595

Annexure-II 

[Part (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha USQ No.4562 for 08/01/2019]

Number of students enrolled under Student READY Program during the years 2016-17 & 2017-18 in various states

Annexure-III 

[Part (e) of Lok Sabha USQ No.4562 for 08/01/2019]

List of the Agri-Business Incubation Centre