Policy shifts and structural barriers: Evaluating the doubling farmers’ income initiative in india

Abstract

he indian government’s ambitious target of doubling farmers’ income (dfi) by 2022 marked a significant policy shift from production-centric to income-oriented strategies. This study, based on secondary data, critically evaluates progress by analysing household income trends, policy measures, and structural challenges. Using evidence from the nafis 2016–17 survey and the situation assessment surveys (sas) of 2012–13 and 2018–19, it finds that although farm households experienced substantial nominal income growth, real income gains were modest due to inflation, falling short of the doubling goal. Income composition analysis shows a reduced contribution from cultivation and growing reliance on wages and non-farm sources, highlighting the limitations of farm-based earnings. Government interventions, such as pm-kisan (cash transfers) and pmfby (crop insurance), improved liquidity and risk coverage, but uneven implementation restricted their effectiveness. Similarly, initiatives like e-nam and farmer producer organizations (fpos) strengthened market access and collective bargaining but yielded broader outcomes only after 2020, beyond the original timeline. Overall, while policy reforms expanded safety nets, diversified income sources, and encouraged market integration, enduring issues like fragmented landholdings, rising input costs, and sluggish productivity growth hampered full achievement of dfi. Nonetheless, the initiative generated momentum, laying a solid foundation for sustained rural income growth in the future.