A grant of Rs 30 crores allotted under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) for promoting cotton cultivation in Punjab was reportedly diverted for purchasing a chemical solution against the attack of white fly insect on the fiber crop. But there are protests that the insecticide purchased by the state agriculture department is costly, spurious, and ineffective against white fly. The main charge is that the Punjab government had diverted 64.7 per cent of the RKVY funds, while its Andhra Pradesh counterpart had used 98.5 per cent of the grant for the mandated purpose.

The opposition wants an official investigation into the supply of spurious pesticides. It wants issues facing growers of cotton, potato, sugarcane, and other crops to be addressed without delay. The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana was introduced in India’s eleventh five year plan. This was in 2007.

The scheme envisaged a four percentage yearly growth in agriculture and related divisions. It looks to offer states and union territories the independence to draw plans for developing agriculture through a knowledge of local conditions, geographical and weather patterns, obtainable natural assets, technology, cropping models. It offers guidance on boosting the yield of agriculture and related sectors and ultimately maximising profits of farmers.