New Delhi: In order to speed up agriculture sector growth, the government sanctioned two major plans with a total disbursement of over Rs 29,800 crore.

While Rs 25,000 crore has been apportioned for the Additional Central Assistance Scheme, a amount of Rs 4,882.48 crore has been cleared up for the National Food Security Mission to be used up in the next five years starting this fiscal.

After a gathering of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, P Chidambaram, Finance Minister told, “We hope states will take advantage of the ACA scheme and the states will also join the central government enthusiastically in implementing the food security mission.”

The plans were adopted as part of a declaration during the NDC gathering held here in May, he alleged, adding up these were aimed at raising public investments in agriculture segment to lift its rate of growth to 4 per cent annually.

The CCEA judgment came up a day after the PM enunciated in his Independence Day lecture that the government would shortly instigate a special programme to put in over Rs 25,000 crore in agriculture to improve livelihood of farmers and amplify food production.