As part of its celebration of the Farmers Welfare Year, the Madhya Pradesh government recently conducted quizzes under which participants received prizes worth lakhs.
“Unlike a direct benefit transfer, a prize won on stage creates goodwill between the citizen and the government. These included Royal Enfield motorbikes, tractors and e-scooters, and farmers and students were among participants. “We are happy students learnt about the initiative and participated in large numbers. The winner becomes a brand ambassador of the scheme in his village. It also drives behavioural outcomes, as a farmer who answers questions on natural farming or water conservation is more likely to remember them. The opposition however questioned the government’s efforts towards farmers. “This year, farmers staged protests repeatedly for moong price, fertiliser, and now for electricity to irrigate the land so the government didn’t do any welfare of farmers.
Tiwari added that 2026 is being celebrated as farmer welfare year. Now, 102 students from schools, colleges and universities will receive ₹ 1 lakh each,” Tiwari said. Talking more about the initiative, a government official said women are already covered through the Ladli Behna Yojana, under which beneficiaries receive ₹ 1,250 a month and the government through of a fresh communication channel for youth and farmers.
“The aim is to create awareness about government initiatives,” said Shri Ram Tiwari, convener of culture department’s Veer Bharat Nyas and Krishna Pathey, the two programmes launched by chief minister Mohan Yadav. “Under the Kisan Kalyan Swabhiman Parv programme, this competition has been launched for farmers,” he said. “A farmer winning a motorcycle in a village creates more recall than a hoarding,” the officer quoted above said. A second official said the student quiz was part of the government’s cultural outreach. Similarly, youth may become more aware of culture department initiatives,” he said. Distributing tractors and Bullet motorcycles is fine, but the state government should focus on resolving real issues faced by farmers, such as fertiliser availability, timely compensation for crop losses and ensuring fair prices for agricultural produce,” said KK Mishra, Congress spokesperson.
