SSC CGL - Detailed Guide 2025
Self-Paced Course
Schemes for Farmers & Agriculture
Government initiatives supporting farmers and agricultural development
1. Soil Health Card Scheme
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Objective | Promote balanced use of fertilizers and improve soil productivity |
| Benefit | Provides individual farmers with a report containing the nutrient status of their soil |
| Frequency | One card every 2 years per landholding |
| Parameters Covered | 12 parameters including Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulphur, pH, Organic Carbon, etc. |
| Outcome | Scientific fertilizer use, improved crop yield, reduced cost |
| Launch Year | 2015 |
| Ministry | Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare |
SSC Tip: Soil Health Card = Every 2 years = 12 soil parameters = Agriculture Ministry
2. eNAM (National Agriculture Market)
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Objective | Create a unified national electronic market for agri commodities |
| Type | Online trading platform integrated with APMCs |
| Benefits | Better price discovery, transparency, and competitive bidding |
| Integrated Markets | Over 1,000 mandis (markets) across states |
| Services Offered | Real-time price information, buy/sell offers, quality parameters |
| Launch Year | 2016 |
| Implemented By | Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) |
| Ministry | Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare |
SSC Tip: eNAM = Online agri market = 1,000+ mandis = SFAC implementation = Agriculture Ministry
3. Operation Green
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Objective | Ensure price stabilization for Tomato, Onion, and Potato (TOP) crops |
| Strategy | Increase value chain efficiency, reduce post-harvest losses |
| Key Interventions | Subsidy on transport and storage during surplus production |
| Expanded Scope | Later included other perishables under "Operation Greens -- TOP to TOTAL" |
| Implementing Body | MoFPI (Ministry of Food Processing Industries) |
| Launch Year | 2018 |
SSC Tip: Operation Green = TOP crops = Price stabilization = Food Processing Ministry
4. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Objective | Provide medium-to-long term debt financing for building post-harvest infrastructure |
| Facilities Supported | Cold storage, silos, warehouses, grading & packaging units |
| Target Beneficiaries | Farmers, FPOs, PACS, Agri-entrepreneurs, startups |
| Loan Tenure | Up to 7 years with interest subvention |
| Fund Corpus | ₹1 lakh crore |
| Launch Year | 2020 |
| Ministry | Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare |
SSC Tip: AIF = ₹1 lakh crore fund = Post-harvest infrastructure = 7-year loans = Agriculture Ministry
Quick Comparison Table
| Scheme | Launch Year | Ministry/Implementing Body | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soil Health Card | 2015 | Agriculture Ministry | Soil testing every 2 years |
| eNAM | 2016 | SFAC (Agriculture Ministry) | Online agri market (1,000+ mandis) |
| Operation Green | 2018 | Food Processing Ministry | TOP crops price stabilization |
| AIF | 2020 | Agriculture Ministry | ₹1 lakh crore for infrastructure |
Developed By Satyam Kumar
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