In the Budget 2024–25, Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman planned a spending of Rs 1.52 lakh crore to increase resilience and productivity in the agricultural and related industries.
Utilizing digital public infrastructure, ‘atmanirbharta’ for oil seeds, large-scale vegetable production clusters, and financial assistance for the network of Nucleus Breeding Centers for shrimp broodstock are some of the strategies revealed to improve productivity and resilience in the agriculture industry.
Referring to “Annadata” (farmers) as one of the four main castes that require attention, the minister stated that the government had raised Minimum Support Prices for all key crops a month prior, fulfilling its pledge to provide at least a 50% profit margin over expenses.
Encouraged by the pilot project’s success, the federal government and the states will work together to expedite the adoption of digital public infrastructure (DPI) in agriculture, which will encompass farmers’ holdings and their operations in three years.
According to the Minister of Finance, 400 districts will participate in a digital crop survey for Kharif this year utilizing DPI. The farmer and land registries would contain information on six crore farmers and their holdings. Five states will allow the issuing of Kisan Credit Cards based on Jan Samarth.
According to Sitharaman, a plan is in place to help oil seeds including mustard, peanut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower reach “atmanirbharta.” The government will improve their marketing, warehousing, and production.
Additionally, she stated that large-scale vegetable production clusters will be established in closer proximity to important centers of consumption. For vegetable supply chains, including for product collection, storage, and marketing, the government will support Farmer-Producer Organizations, cooperatives, and start-ups. She said that funding will be made available to establish a network of Nucleus Breeding Centers for shrimp broodstocks. NABARD will assist the financing of shrimp growing, processing, and export.
In addition, the Finance Minister declared that the government will examine the whole agricultural research setup with the goal of concentrating on increasing productivity and creating climate-resilient types. Challenge mode funding will be made available, including to the private sector. She said that domain specialists from the government and outside will supervise the execution of this kind of study.
She said that farmers would be able to cultivate an additional 109 new, high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticultural crops. The Minister of Finance furthermore declared that one crore farmers nationwide will be introduced to natural farming within the following two years, with certification and branding providing help. 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centers will be developed for the purpose, and 10,000 gram panchayats who are interested will be involved in the implementation process, she continued.
In addition, a National Cooperation Policy will be released by the government to promote the organized, methodical, and comprehensive growth of the cooperative industry. The policy’s objective would be to provide large-scale job possibilities and accelerate the expansion of the rural economy, she continued.
