Budget ki Baat, Kisano ke Sath: Farmers from Across India Share their Views on Budget 2022-23

In the Budget 2022, several important initiatives have been taken up in the interest of farmers. But it has received a mixed reaction from the farming community. Krishi Jagran understands the importance of the voice of each & every farmer and therefore we organized a live discussion “Budget ki Baat, Kisano ke Sath” to give an equal opportunity to farmers & distinguished Agricultural economists to voice their opinion about the budget 2022-23

Several farmers, economists & industrialists took part in this discussion. Among them was Padma Shri Awardee - Bharat Bhushan Tyagi who appreciated the government efforts to promote natural farming techniques, to enhance the biodiversity on the riverside areas and provide financial help to the farmers.”

After this, progressive farmer Narendra Singh Mehra supported Bharat Bhushan Tyagi by saying “Farmers should be given relief in hilly areas. Many farmers like me have to go through many kinds of mental and physical troubles, which are ignored”.

Next up, Progressive farmer Ravindra Choudhary appreciated Krishi Jagran’s efforts and said “Ministry of Agriculture should also organize such an event, so that farmers can openly voice their opinions, this will help the government to understand their problems and take corrective steps.” Apart from this, he said that use of drones is very challenging for common farmers, the government must take measures to make them accessible.

Farmer Anand Mishra, who is called the “Lemon Man of India”, said that "Natural farming is very important for farmers & promotion of Agriculture in the form of subsidies & loans by NABARD is commendable. It has been a great step of the government to promote it."

Farmer Jagmohan Singh requested the government to fix a separate agri budget for Hilly regions of India. Saurav Upadhyay of the Indian Farmers Association says that "Natural farming is not a big deal, but if you go to the village, the farmers there are still unaware of the term. It is necessary to make a policy where its awareness can be spread among the people. Saurav Upadhyay emphasized on making MSP compulsory on every crop and removal of middlemen.

There’s no mention of insurance for the Horticultural crops in the country. In such a situation, Anand Mishra requested Krishi Jagran's Founder and Editor-in-Chief, M.C Dominic to take their demand to the government so that insurance may be provided on horticulture crops also.

Then, Kiran Rana, a progressive farmer also said that "the government needs to make more efforts to promote natural farming and it is also necessary to increase the budget of Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana."

Progressive farmer Gagan Singh Rajput said that "The emphasis should be on C2+50 formula and MSP should be brought for the farmers. Also, the crop insuarance claiming process for claims should be simplified so that farmers can get maximum benefit & get insurance in case of losses".

At the same time, Dr. Vikas Kumar, Senior Scientist, ICAR says that "Farmers are getting a lot of benefit from the Crop Insurance Scheme, due to which they are being given a lot of financial help and are being run for the farmers." All these schemes are giving them a lot of benefits and facilities.

At the same time, most of the farmers thanked Krishi Jagran for providing them an amazing platform where farmers' voices are first heard and understood."