Abhrasnata Das
In the budget 2022 Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman outlined a raft of initiatives aimed at the agriculture industry and Indian farmers. The revolutionary steps like the introduction of Kisan Drones to chemical-free natural farming, with an emphasis on farmers' fields in 5-km-wide areas along the Ganga. With a focus on laying the foundation stone for "Amrit Kaal," this year's agricultural budget is set to meet the current and future demands.

Further, with an allocation of 2.37 lakh crore for direct payments for minimum support price (MSP) to wheat and paddy farmers for the fiscal year 2022-23, finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman focussed on guaranteeing secured income to farmers while presenting the annual budget.

In this article let's explore the key takeaways from the budget 2022, that will impact the present and future Indian farming.

Agri-Tech and Public-Private Partnership

Drone technology was featured in the Union Budget 2022, with 'Kisan Drones' being utilized to promote agricultural assessment, digitalization of land records, pesticide spraying, and fertilizer spraying. Drone use reflects the government's heightened interest in technology and opens up the possibility of more Internet of Things (IOT) applications in the industry. The government has also targeted the farm product value chain as a potential source of funding. As a result, NABARD will make it easier to build a blended capital fund using the co-investment model. The Startups' operations will encompass, among other things, assistance for FPOs, agricultural machinery on a rental basis, and technology, including IT-based help.

Additionally, a PPP scheme will be created for the delivery of digital and hi-tech services to farmers, with public sector research and extension institutes and agro value chain players included.

Skylark Drones CEO & co-founder Mughilan Thiru Ramasamy, “The introduction of drone shakti will ensure business momentum and drive faster adoption of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the country.”
In other words, the introduction of technology and insolvency of the private sector will increase production and develop the quality of the yield.

However, it must be underlined that for now, this will only be beneficial for 1% of the farmers. As for the small farmers having less land, applying technology will not be cost-effective and fruitful.
Natural Farming

“Chemical-free farming would be pushed across the nation, starting with farms inside a 5-km wide corridor along the Ganga River,” marked the Finance Minister. The FM asserted that the Centre will provide a comprehensive package, along with the state governments for farmers to adopt suitable varieties of fruits and vegetables, and to use appropriate production and harvesting techniques. Additionally, states would also be urged to alter agricultural university curricula to satisfy the demands of natural, zero-budget, and organic farming, modern-day agriculture, value addition, and management.

This initiative of the government can have a negative impact on the future of the Indian agriculture industry. For example, the Sri Lankan government’s overnight stance to establish organic farming completely in the nation brought a negative impact to the economy. Going completely, organic lowers the yield that is needed at a commercial scale, which in turn led to massive job loss and certainly played a big role to boost the inflation in the country.

According to a report by Indian express, going organic considerably decreased the yield of a 36-year-old farmer, and during the interview he stated:

“I was able to harvest hardly 3 tonnes per acre of tomatoes, as against my average of 15-20 tonnes from regular farming. Forget making money, I could not even recover my input costs,” says the 36-year-old. He alleged that the government was trying to divert attention from the rising costs of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which has already made agriculture less profitable. “This (natural farming) will make it totally unviable,” he added.

Gati Shakti and improved logistics

According to the budget, the PM Shakti Masterplan for the master mobility of people and things across the country would be created in 2022-23.

A total of 100 new railway logistics will be constructed under the PM Gatishakti plan. As a result, the supply chain will be accelerated while logistical expenses are reduced and food waste is minimized.

Push to the Food Processing industry

In Budget 2022, the government has proposed Rs 2,941.99 crore for the food processing Industries as a part of the inclusive development program. According to Prahlad Singh Patel,
Minister of State for Food Processing Industries of India,” This scheme will help to boost up the food processing sector of India, by helping the small and medium firm to set an eye for quality control and packaging as well.”

In the coming days, this will help the Indian food processing firms to establish their foothold in the international domain while generating huge employment opportunities in this sector.

To Conclude

The revolutionary ideas of implementing updated agricultural forms along with the insolvency of the private sector are expected to impact the agriculture sector in the coming days. However, much emphasis must be given to the small and medium-sized farmers for establishing inclusive development as a whole.

Read More News :

Canon India Taps Semiconductor Growth, Expands Market Reach and Presence
IIT Madras’s Latest Research to Fuel India’s Semiconductor Industry

Editor's Column

Industry Experts

🍪 Do you like Cookies?

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Read more...

Top