Two senior ministers and the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission are meeting on Friday to flesh out the contours of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assistance scheme for farmers, the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Montek Singh Ahluwalia will discuss ways to involve states to spend in agriculture by offering a Rs 4,000-crore additional central assistance to the farm sector. This kitty would be available only to states which promise to match the Centre’s assistance out of their budget.

It would provide the Centre an access to monitor the progress of the schemes and ascertain the fund required in the following year. The disbursement each year would depend on the state’s agricultural productivity in a crop and the potential possible in that state.

The scheme is a short-term strategy to boost growth through additional funds considered necessary to achieve the targeted 4 per cent growth during the current Five Year Plan. There has been a sharp slowdown in agricultural growth in recent years.

The three will identify the common aspects of all states so that the scheme could be accessible to all. The money would come from the Centre in the remaining four years of the 11th Plan. The scheme is expected to be announced in the National Development Council meeting on May 29.