AgriBudget2024: No Hike In PM-Kisan To Lowest Allocation Among Key Ministries

In her final budget speech before the May 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday pledged economic changes to spur growth. As per the Interim Budget the defence ministry has been given the highest allocation of Rs 6.1 lakh crore and agriculture ministry has been given lowest allocation of Rs 1.27 lakh crore.

Ahead of the general elections that are scheduled to take place in a few months, it was widely anticipated that the government would increase the Rs 6,000 annual transfer to every qualifying agricultural household. But, the Rs 60,000 crore allotment for the plan remained the same.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech on Thursday said, "A strategy will be formulated to achieve ‘atmanirbharta’ for oil seeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower. This will  also cover research for high-yielding varieties, widespread adoption of modern farming techniques, market linkages, procurement, value addition, and crop insurance."

Amith Agarwal, Co-founder & Director, Staragri Limited said, The emphasis on Atmanirbharta for oilseeds like sesame, mustard, and sunflower will not only transforms crop patterns but significantly boosts farmers' income, contributing to India's self-reliance and enhancing its food security program.

While praising Government’s scheme on increasing income of farmers the FM said “The efforts for value addition in agricultural sector and boosting farmers’ income will be stepped up. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana has benefitted 38 lakh farmers and generated 10 lakh employment. Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Yojana has assisted 2.4 lakh SHGs and sixty thousand individuals with credit linkages. Other schemes are complementing the efforts for reducing post- harvest losses, and improving productivity and incomes.”

She added, the government will further promote private and public investment in post-harvest activities including aggregation, modern storage, efficient supply chains, primary and secondary processing and marketing and branding. Further, Government is also planning to use the application of Nano DAP on various crops in all agro-climatic zones.

Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director, Insecticides India Ltd. on use of Nano DAP  said, Development of Nanofertilizers (such as Nano-Urea and Nano-DAP) is a small step towards sustainability that signifies the scientific and technological achievement of Indian scientists. Both Nano Urea and Nano DAP provide an economical and readily available nutrient source suitable to meet out the nutrient requirements of the crops.

For increasing productivity of milch-animals the Minister said, a comprehensive programme for supporting dairy farmers will be formulated. Efforts are already on to control foot and mouth disease. India is the world’s largest milk producer but with low productivity of milch-animals. The programme will be built on the success of existing schemes such Rashtriya Gokul Mission, National Livestock Mission, and Infrastructure Development Funds for dairy processing and animal husbandry.

Raju Kapoor, Director, Industry & Public Affairs, FMC India said, “The continuity of the ‘PM Kisan Sampada Yojana’ will make available requisite investment at the hands of farmers to promote use of newer technologies in the form of advanced agri-inputs. The emphasis on empowering women self-help groups with significant credit linkages will benefit in rural development and we resonate very well with it. The focus on minimizing post-harvest losses is crucial, and similarly we appreciate the decision to expand nano DAP usage across all agro-climatic conditions, which will undoubtedly catalyze the growth of drone applications in agriculture and improve fertilizer use efficiency.

While expressing his disappointments from the budget he added, the industry was also hoping  for the introduction of a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for ‘new-age’ agro chemicals, positioning India as a global exporter and addressing domestic opportunity. The government could have also rationalised GST on agro chemicals to 12 per cent. 

Additionally, we anticipated tax incentives on R&D investments and extension activities by the industry would further encourage innovation in the sector.