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Climate resilient agriculture that is linked to markets
Climate change poses a threat to India’s food security. The nation suffered damages of over USD 56 billion due to weather-related disasters in the five years between 2019 and 2023, according to data from Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. In 2023, in the first nine months, every day, there had been a disaster across the county. These disasters have claimed 2923 human lives, affected 1.84 million hectares of crop area, destroyed over 80,563 houses and killed close to 92,519 livestock, as per – India 2023: An assessment of extreme weather events brought out by Down To Earth magazine and the Centre for Science and Environment. To mitigate and adapt to these changing times and to rev up the rural infrastructure and boost the economy, this budget has turned its focus on the primal sector with a 12.1 per cent increase in outlay of Rs 132,470 crore against the actuals of 2023-24 which accounted for Rs 118,147 crore.
Climate resilient crop varieties
The government plans to introduce 109 high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticulture crops. This would require research and farmer collaboration and to facilitate the same, existing agriculture research set up will be revamped to focus on raising productivity and developing climate resilient crops. Also, support is to be extended to one crore farmers to facilitate the adoption of natural farming, through the implementation of certification and branding programmes. This will have a direct impact on the fertiliser subsidy that the government is stepping down in a phased manner. It is estimated at Rs 164,000 crore in 2024-25 which is a decrease of 13.5 per cent from Rs 189,487 crore spent in 2023-24.
Strengthening farm linkage
Last year witnessed a spike in prices of basic vegetables like tomato, onion, ginger and potato. In the past, these have threatened governments of their continuation itself. In a bid to connect the farmer directly to the consumer, so that their produce can be effectively consumed without the long chain of middle men, vegetable production clusters are planned near major consumption areas. This would strengthen farm linkages. Existing agricultural research setup is to be reviewed to prioritise on productivity enhancement along with setting up 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centres. These schemes seem to be similar to announcements in the earlier budget, but there are no data available on the implementation status of them. Apart from marketing, storage has for long been proved a challenge. Plans of decentralised cold storage units, chilled transportation, agri food processing have seen a miss in this budget.
To become self-sufficient in pulses and oilseeds, government plans to strengthen the production, storage and marketing of mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean and sunflower. There are also plans for a national policy for development of the cooperative sector along with focus on shrimp production.
Digitising and easing access to credit
A bold reform comes with the support to states in the rollout of the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) aiming to cover farmers and their lands within a span of three years. A digital crop survey is to be conducted in 400 districts and it will provide precise data on crop yields, allowing for better planning and support. Farmers can use this data to decide crop type and the quantity that must be produced. This will lower wastage as well fetch fair prices. On the other hand, this data can be used by startups and agri-tech industry to develop innovative solutions to address agricultural challenges.
DPI will also facilitate Kisan Credit Cards for farmers in five states. Along with this, 6 crore farmers and their landholdings will be brought into digital registries. It will help to streamline land ownership records and simplify access to government schemes, farm inputs, credit and insurance.
Fillip to rural economy
This budget did not have any specific incentive for the various sectors but has given a major push to enhance rural consumption. The overall inflation for rural areas in June was just 5.7 per cent but the consumer food price index recorded inflation was 9 per cent. Crop loss, drought, floods, heat waves and other climate induced issues have been a major reason hindering rural wage growth over the last few years. To boost the rural economy, in the budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced of a provision of Rs 2.66 lakh crore for rural development, including rural infrastructure. This is expected to spur the consumption demand in economy, especially in FMCG, automobiles, etc.
