Featuring as one of the 9 priorities for ‘Viksit Bharat’, Agriculture and allied industries have been allocated a budget of Rs1.52Lakh crore in the FY’2024-25 union budget. This marks an increase of 21.6% over the previous year’s allocation to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The budget will be allocated across the following areas to enhance agriculture productivity, infrastructure and resilience. 

1. An increase in R&D to promote development of high yielding and climate resilient varieties of crops ensuring food sufficiency and security in the years to come.

2. The budget focuses on crop diversification to improve farmers’ income, healthcare of individuals and environment. The government is offering higher MSP to nutri-cereals such as bajra, jowar and pulses to move the needle towards less water-intensive crops.

3. To reduce the nation’s dependence on imports of edible oil amid geopolitical uncertainties and rising import bill, the government has formulated a strategy to achieve ‘atmanirbharta’ for oil seeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower. This will cover research for high-yielding varieties, adoption of modern farming techniques, market linkages, procurement, value addition, and crop insurance.

4. Significant push towards sustainable farming is seen by involving 1 crore farmers into natural farming. This would lower the use of fertiliser, water, and other inputs thereby saving costs for farmers while enhancing overall soil quality. 

5. Foraying into allied agricultural industries such as shrimp production and export has also received a major push from the government as these industries have shown tremendous growth over the past few years and are promising sources of incomes for marginalized communities.

6. To fight both food shortages and inflation, large scale vegetable production clusters will be developed close to major consumption centers through increased involvement of FPOs, cooperatives and start-ups in the supply chain.

7. The budget is set on implementing Digital Public Infrastructure in agriculture over 3 years. This includes digital crop survey and mapping of farmers to their land parcels to address issues of land fragmentation, facilitate credit risk assessment, and enhance formal lending through Kisan Credit Cards. The infrastructure aims to provide weather, soil and water data that can support crop planning.

The budget aims to bring out a National Cooperation Policy that can help in enhancing the bargaining power and incomes of small and marginal farmers. Through the Cooperatives and FPOs, they can have access to better resources and markets.