From Rs 67,800 cr in 2018-19 to Rs 1.30 lakh cr for current fiscal.

Clearly indicating its thrust on the agricultural sector, the Modi Government on Friday increased the budgetary allocation of the sector by a whopping 91 per cent — from Rs 67,800 crore (revised estimate) in 2018-19 to Rs 1.30 lakh crore for the current fiscal. The Government had allocated Rs 46,700 crore in the actual Budget for 2018-19.

Of this, Rs 75,000 crore will be for the flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN). Allocation to PM Kisan scheme is aimed at providing structured incomes support to poor and rural farmers of Rs 6,000 per year for farmers with land holdings below two hectares. This benefit is to be transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary farmers in three equal installments of Rs 2,000 each and will be funded directly by the Centre. This scheme will benefit around 12 crore farmers.

Presenting the Budget for the 2019-20 fiscal, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Government keeps “gaon, garib, aur kisan” at the centre of everything that it does.

The huge allocation of funds will help to improve average annual growth in agriculture sector which is 2.88 per cent and improve the farmers’ income. The Budget has focused on zero budget farming, which is a form of natural farming — neither chemical-loaded nor organic with its reliance on manure.

Sitharaman further said the Government will invest in a big way in developing infrastructure in both agriculture and allied farm sector, and encourage private entrepreneurs in food processing. The Finance Minister said that both “ease of doing business” and “easy of living” should apply to farmers too.

Besides PM-KISAN, the Government has also proposed to increase the allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), another flagship scheme, to Rs 14,000 crore for the current fiscal against the revised estimate of Rs 12,975.70 crore for the 2018-19.

About 5.61 crore farmers are taking benefit of the PMFBY. This additional allocation would help in promoting crop insurance penetration in the country and help protect farmers in times of crop failures.

The Government has allocated an estimated Rs 3,737 crore for the newly carved out Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

Meanwhile, farm experts and industry bodies gave mixed response to the first budget of the Modi 2.0 Government saying it failed to address key areas like oilseeds while giving thrust to fishery and other allied agricultural activities.

In the Budget 2019-20, the Government estimates Rs 18,000 crore spending towards interest subvention on short-term crop loan, while Rs 14,987 crore was allocated in the revised budget for the 2018-19 financial year.

To ensure minimum support price (MSP) in times of steep fall in rates, the Government has proposed to increase the allocation by Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 3,000 crore for intervening in the market in such times under the Market Intervention Scheme and Price Support Scheme (MIS-PSS). The Government has recently hiked the MSP of kharif crops for the year 2019-20.

Similarly, the allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Yojana (PM-AASHA) is projected to be raised by Rs 100 crore to Rs 1,500 crore. However, for promoting farm mechanisation, not much increase in the Budget allocation has been proposed. The Government is estimated to spend Rs 600 crore this fiscal.

For the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), the Government has proposed to raise the Budget allocation to Rs 3,500 crore for this fiscal from Rs 2,954.69 crore last year.

To implement 18-odd Central schemes under the ‘Green Revolution’ umbrella, Budget allocation is projected to be increased to Rs 12,560 crore for 2019-20 as against the revised estimate of Rs 11,802 crore for the 2018-19.

Stating that ‘annadata’ can also be ‘urjadata’, the Minister said that dairying through cooperatives should also be encouraged by creating infrastructure for cattle feed manufacturing, milk procurement, processing and marketing.

To harness potential in the fishery sector, the Government proposed a Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) to establish a robust fisheries management framework and check gaps in the value chain. “Fishing and fishermen communities are closely aligned with farming and are crucial to rural India. …This (PMMSY) will address critical gaps in the value chain, including infrastructure, modernisation, traceability, production, productivity, post-harvest management, and quality control,” she added.

She also proposed setting up of 10,000 new Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to ensure economies of scale for farmers over the next five years.

To ensure fair price to farmers, the Minister said that the Centre will work with State Governments to allow farmers to benefit from electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) which was launched in 2016.

“The Agriculture Produce Marketing Cooperatives (APMC) Act should not hamper farmers from getting a fair price for their produce,” she said.

Saturday, 06 July 2019 | PNS | New Delhi

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