DELHI: The Government of India has not conducted any survey to assess the number of farmers, including marginal farmers, living below the poverty line in Jammu and Kashmir or other states, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. This information was provided in response to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha on March 28, 2025.
According to data from the Agriculture Census 2015-16, as revealed by the government in response to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha on March 28, 2025, Jammu and Kashmir has 1,186,887 operational marginal holdings, indicating a significant number of small-scale farmers in the region.
A marginal farmer is defined as one who owns less than one hectare (2.47 acres) of agricultural land. While no specific survey has been conducted on poverty among farmers, the government has implemented various schemes aimed at their welfare. These include the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), and the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS), among others. The PM-KISAN scheme alone has disbursed over Rs. 3.68 lakh crore nationwide since its inception in 2019, benefiting more than 9.8 crore farmers in its latest installment.
Despite these measures, the absence of a dedicated survey assessing poverty among farmers in Jammu and Kashmir raises concerns about the adequacy of targeted interventions. Agricultural support in the Union Territory largely relies on central schemes, as agriculture remains a state subject. Given the economic challenges faced by farmers, particularly in marginal holdings, there have been calls for more region-specific studies to tailor policy interventions effectively.
