Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said the income of farmers in the country has increased significantly due to the sustained efforts taken by the Central government.

Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha today, Mr Chouhan said incomes of the farmers have not only doubled but, in several cases, have tripled and even increased up to eight times. He said the agriculture budget, which was only about 19,306 crore rupees, has now been increased to more than 130,000 crore rupees. He said that the food grain production in the country has increased by 44 per cent since 2014.

The Minister said that under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, farmers are provided financial assistance of six thousand rupees per year directly into their bank accounts.