Moves are also afoot to promote Digital Public Infrastructure for agriculture in partnership with the states. This digital framework will provide farmers with access to vital information, such as weather forecasts, crop advisory services, and market prices

Kolkata: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday minced no words in saying that agriculture will be one of top nine priorities of the Modi 3.0 government.

Sitharaman, while presenting the 2024 Union Budget on Tuesday, announced a substantial allocation of Rs 1.52 lakh crore for agriculture and allied sectors in FY25. The Finance Minister added that over the next two years, 10 million farmers will be introduced to natural farming practices. The shift towards natural farming aims at promoting sustainable agricultural practices and reducing dependency on chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Natural farming enhances soil health and biodiversity while reducing cultivation costs for farmers, thereby increasing their profitability.

The Union Finance Minister also divulged the Centre’s plan to promote large-scale vegetable production clusters. These clusters will be strategically established to boost production and ensure a steady vegetable supply across the country.

Moves are also afoot to promote Digital Public Infrastructure for agriculture in partnership with the states. This digital framework will provide farmers with access to vital information, such as weather forecasts, crop advisory services, and market prices.

“A digital crop survey for Kharif will be conducted in 400 districts in FY25. The issuance of Jan Samarth-based Kisan Credit Cards will be enabled in five states. Financing for shrimp farming, processing, and export will be facilitated through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD),” she said.

The Centre has lined up plans to roll out Jan Samarth-based Kissan Credit Card to be introduced in five States, to start with. That’s not all. The government will provide finance for shrimp farming and marketing.

Large scale vegetable production will be developed closer to major consumption centres. “We will promote farmer produce organisations, cooperatives and startups for vegetable supply chains,” the minister said.

For achieving self sufficiency in pulses and oil seeds, the Centre will strengthen their Graproduction, storage and marketing. A strategy is being put in place to achieve Atmanirbharata for oil seeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean and sunflower.

In the next two years one crore farmers across the country will be initiated into natural farming supported by certification and branding. Implementation will be through scientific institutions and willing Gram Panchayats. As many as 10,000 need-based bio-input resources centres will be established.

To undertake a comprehensive review of the agricultural research setup to bring the focus on raising productivity and developing climate-resilient varieties. Funding will be provided in challenging mode including to the private sector, domain experts-both from the government and outside and will oversee the conduct of such research.

As many as 109 new high yielding and climate resilient varieties of 32 field and horticultural crops will be released for cultivation by farms, the minister said.

“The budget has emphasized structural changes in unlocking the value chain in the agriculture and allied areas. Thrust on R&D in collaboration with industry in PPP mode can significantly enhance productivity and bring much-needed innovation to the sector. Secondly, a marked difference in this budget is the clear focus on sustainable production driven by the promotion of natural farming in the sector. Despite being the leading producer of several crops, India lags in Agri exports globally. To harness the potential, the budget has laid significant thrust on promoting cluster development in horticulture products which can significantly boost the contribution of the sector to the national economy,” said Soumyak Biswas, Partner, Food and Agribusiness, Management Consulting, BDO India.

Given the predominance of small and marginal farmers in the country who lack scale, the announcement of the formulation of a National Cooperative Policy is expected to address issues related to scaling up, collectivisation and streamlining the value chain. Thrust on increasing self-sufficiency is reflected in the announcement for pulses and oilseeds which can help reduce the import bills.

Last but not least, the enablement of Digital Public Infrastructure can bring in much-needed efficiency in the value chain – which will give the Annadatas of the country access to resources, advisory and financial support, in the process creating a globally competitive food industry, he said.