Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Conducts First Comprehensive Monthly Review Meeting; 'Khet Bachao Abhiyan' to be Launched

The first comprehensive monthly review meeting of the ministry was held at Krishi Bhawan in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development. The primary objective of the meeting was to realize Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision that the benefits of government schemes should be visible directly in the lives of farmers rather than remaining on files. It was decided during the meeting that the functioning of all departments, divisions, and national missions of the ministry will now be reviewed regularly every month, and monthly financial and physical targets will be set for officials.

The Union Minister announced that a nationwide 'Khet Bachao Abhiyan' (Save the Farm Campaign) will be launched starting from the 22nd of this month. This campaign will be conducted to address issues such as declining soil health, stubble management, and the imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers. As part of this initiative, agricultural scientists and field staff will visit farms directly to make farmers aware of soil testing and the conservation of organic elements.

Discussing the progress of the Digital Agriculture Mission, it was reported that over 10.77 crore unique 'Farmer IDs' have been created against a target of 14 crore farmers. Under the Digital Crop Survey, surveys of more than 26.73 crore fields have been completed during the current Kharif season, and a digital map of 8.03 million hectares has been prepared under the National Soil Mapping Program.

The meeting also reviewed the country's steps toward self-reliance in the fields of pulses and oilseeds. For the year 2025-26, pulse production stood at 274.09 lakh tonnes against a target of 266 lakh tonnes, and oilseed production was recorded at 430.59 lakh tonnes against a target of 427 lakh tonnes. Additionally, 27.32 lakh farmers and 12.85 lakh hectares of land have been integrated under the National Natural Farming Mission, for which more than 33,257 'Krishi Sakhis' have been deployed.

During the meeting, a 23 percent increase was noted in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), with enrollments rising to 2.83 crore. The Union Minister instructed that the claim settlement process must remain transparent and that no claim should remain pending. Furthermore, loans worth over 1,01,502 crore rupees have been sanctioned under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), facilitating the creation of modern warehouses and cold storage in villages.

Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan directed KVK, 'ATMA', and agricultural universities to work as 'one team' to ensure agricultural research moves from the lab to the land. He issued a stern warning to those states and districts lagging in rankings, stating that he would personally speak with Chief Ministers to remove obstacles if necessary.