NADP comes with stiff rider on agri spend

States would have to spend more than their three-year average expenditure on the farm sector to qualify for funds from the Rs 25,000 crore national agriculture development programme (NADP) announced recently by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The outlay allocated to a particular state under the scheme would depend on the amount provided in the state budget for agriculture and allied sectors over and above the baseline percentage expenditure incurred by the state government on agriculture.

The baseline would be a moving average, and the average of the agricultural spend in the previous three years would be taken into account, excluding the special assistance through this scheme, for allocation of funds.

This is as per the formula worked out by the central government for allocating funds from the scheme that aims at 4% agricultural growth during the 11th Plan (2007-12).

A state will be eligible for receiving funds only if the baseline share of
agriculture and allied sectors in its total state plan expenditure is
maintained. States would also have to formulate district and state
agriculture plans for accessing funds from the scheme.

Under the new scheme, state governments can take up activities like
agriculture mechinisation, making available certified seeds to farmers,
enhancing soil health, development of rain-fed farming systems, encouraging non-farm activities, strengthening of market infrastructure, special schemes for beneficiaries of land reforms among others.

The allocation by the central government under the scheme to each of the
eligible states would accord a weightage of 20% for net un-irrigated land, 30 % for projected farm sector growth rate and the balance for increased plan expenditure.