Bhavantar Yojana: Over 16 lakh farmers to gain from Madhya Pradesh govt's direct benefit transfer scheme

Bhopal: Over 16 lakh farmers in Madhya Pradesh would benefit from a government scheme under which the ‘model price’ of their products will be deposited directly into their bank accounts, a senior official has said. The direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme of the state government is called ‘Bhavantar Yojana’. Under the scheme, the difference between the market price (to be determined by the government) and the minimum support price (MSP) of crops, called the ‘model price’, will be deposited directly to the accounts of farmers. “Over 16 lakh farmers have been registered under Bhavantar Yojana, which is being implemented for the first time in the country. [caption id=“attachment_4174735” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “Under the scheme, farmers would be paid the difference between the market price or the model sale price and the MSP of crops directly into their bank accounts,” said Rajesh Rajora, Principal Secretary, Farmers Welfare and Agriculture Development, at a press conference last evening. Rajora said crops like soyabean, groundnut, sesame, ramtil, moong, urad, arhar and maize have been included under the scheme. Farmers of the districts under one climatic zone would get equal price of their produce. The model sale price would be declared on 31 December, when the ‘sale window’ in mandis (local markets) would be closed, he said. He said the model sale price would be fixed on the basis of the price of a crop sold in three states, including two neighbouring states, during the period of sale window. Rajora said the total crop arrival is estimated to be 58.65 lakh metric tonne under the scheme.