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TheBudget 2022-23 has set us on the path to growth in a post-pandemic world. Finance and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented a slew of measures that stand to provide an impetus to the agricultural & food sectors.
Agriculture was the only sector which grew in positive territory in the last two years. As seen in the Economic Survey, it registered a growth of 3.6 per cent in 2020-21 and improved to 3.9 per cent in 2021-22, driving the overall Indian economy’s real GDP expansion of 9.2 per cent in 2021-22. For the benefit of this highly-resilient industry, the government has done well by laying out a range of required provisions.
To begin with, the announcement of ₹2.37-lakh crore worth of MSP direct payments for wheat and paddy will help support the large section of farmers engaged in these crops during these difficult times. Furthermore, recognising that 2022-23 has been named as the international year for millets, the Budget announced support for post-harvest value addition, enhancing national consumption and branding millet products nationally and internationally.
The announcement to set up a rational and comprehensive scheme to reduce reliance on oilseed imports, should be treated as a starting point to encourage indigenous production of oilseeds, which also constitute the core raw material for the food processing industry including edible oils and the feed industry.
This year’s Budget has committed itself to the promotion of chemical-free natural farming in the country with a special focus on a five-km corridor along the River Ganga in the first phase. This is promising from a production point of view as farmers in India need to grow what the markets want and not vice-versa and help in fulfilling the growing demand for organic farm produce domestically as well as internationally.
Tapping the tech
The Finance Minister has announced the use of ‘Kisan drones’ for crop assessment, digitalisation of land records and spraying agri-nutrients like fertilisers and pesticides. This will give a fillip to increasing the yield of the small and marginal farmers in India. While the government’s ‘Kisan Saarathi’ digital platform will improve these farmers’ ability to negotiate price and consolidate their produce for the market, drone monitoring will enhance farm practices for a better yield. Moreover, the focus on logistics to hone road transport and facilitate faster movement of people and goods will bode well for farmers as it will help move their produce in a timely manner, thereby avoiding waste.
For the delivery of digital and high-tech services to farmers, the government will launch a scheme of PPP mode which includes private agrotech players and stakeholders of agri value chains. However, private participation would also need good governance, reliability and stability.
Finally, encouraging agri start-ups which are to be funded under the co-investment model through Nabard to offer inter-area and tech support to farmer-producer organisations (FPOs), can be looked upon as a step toward strengthening the 10,000 FPOs in the country. This will help the industry with assurance of uniform quality produce, lower transaction costs.
Taking forward the government’s ongoing efforts to reduce compliance burden for both corporates and citizens, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced the launch of a trust-based governance model as the second version of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ along with ‘Ease of Living’ through digitisation with active involvement of State governments. This, along with the policy continuity, augurs well for the industry engaged in the Agri & Food sectors.
As the FM mentioned in her Budget speech, this year’s budgetary provisions have laid out the vision of ‘India at 100’, which is futuristic and inclusive. While the agriculture & food sectors have received a fair share of inclusion, it needs robust implementation for success.
The writer is President, Cargill India. Views are personal
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