FM Nirmala Sitharaman outlined nine priorities for major agriculture upgrade in the 2024 budget
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced today in the Budget 2024-05 that 109 new high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and cultivation crops will be released to farmers this fiscal year. The Budget outlined nine priorities for the coming year, one of which was productivity and resilience in agriculture.
Sitharaman announced that the government will conduct a comprehensive review of research to develop climate resilient seeds. Furthermore, the government, in collaboration with states, will promote digital public infrastructure for agriculture.
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Natural farming will be introduced to one crore farmers over the next two years, according to the announcement.In the February Interim Budget, it was announced that a plan would be made for Atma Nirbharta for oilseed production. There were also proposals to ramp up efforts to increase farmer income and agri value addition.Other key interim budget proposals included encouraging private and public sector investment in post-harvest activity, empowering dairy farmers, expanding the application of Nano-DAP to all agro-climatic zones, establishing five integrated Aqua Parks, launching Blue Economy 2.0 to promote aquaculture, accelerating the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Matsaya Sampada Yojana, and providing direct financial assistance to 11.8 crore farmers through PM-KISAN.
In the most recent full budget (Budget 2023-24), the agriculture ministry’s overall allocation for FY24 was increased to Rs 1.25 lakh crore, including Rs 60,000 crore for the PM-KISAN scheme. Furthermore, emphasis was placed on promoting modern agricultural technologies, with a focus on the small farmer. Other notable initiatives included the promotion of millets and startups.
India’s agricultural sector remains plagued by legacy issues. Even though agriculture continues to provide a living for a large portion of the country’s population, it is inefficient and remains a low-wage occupation. According to experts, there is a need to increase farm employment while also moving toward commercialisation and diversification.
Agriculture’s share of the Indian economy has been steadily declining. Currently, it is less than 15 percent. The high growth rate of the industry and services sectors has significantly contributed to this decline. However, agriculture’s importance in India’s economy extends beyond numbers, as over 70 percent of the country’s population relies on rural incomes, and approximately 70 percent of the poor live in rural areas, according to data.
According to the most recent data, the vast majority of Indian farmers rely on marginal and small holdings of less than five acres each. Small and marginal farmers with less than two hectares of land make up 86 percent of all cultivators in the country. This size of holdings is unviable for meaningful agricultural activities, This makes governmental/budgetary support and access to institutional credit even more important for them.
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