Live Session on ‘Expectation of Agriculture Sector from the Union Budget 2022-23’

Will the government take steps to enhance farmers' income as demographics and agriculture become ticking time-bombs? To grasp the gravity of the situation, one must first comprehend that the farmer is currently in a state of anguish, which also explains why this community has experienced such upheaval.

In this regard, Krishi Jagran scheduled a live session on the "Expectation of Agriculture Sector from the Union Budget 2022-23" on January 29, 2022, from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM.

Many leaders, scientists as well as progressive farmers took part and shared their viewpoints on the pre-budget expectations with major topics of improvement in agriculture. M C Dominic, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Krishi Jagran & Agriculture World moderated the entire session. He believes that agri experts can positively influence the perspective on Union-budget 2022 with fruitful discussion.

Viewpoints shared during Webinar:

At the start of the discussion Gagan Singh Rajput, a progressive farmer, stresses the low price of Farmer produce. Crop insurance and other government schemes are not benefitting the farmers the way they should, He added stressing the facilitation of crop insurance claims and loans.

Dr. Khem Chand, Principal Scientist ICAR- National Institute of Agricultural Economics & Policy Research raised his voice to increase the budget so the small farmers and farmer community can take benefit of it. He further suggested an increase in the budget under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana and focus on reducing the cost of farm machinery & micro irrigation setups. There is a need to analyze and study the factors behind the failure of govt schemes and FPOs in some regions, he further added.

Narinder Wadhwa, Founder & Managing director SKI capital services Ltd and SKI president CPAI- President expects the Budget 2022-23 to focus on Agriculture Infrastructure development. FPOs need to be given due importance in this budget. Investment in agri-tech start-ups will further enhance the agriculture sector in the coming time, he said.

Prasanna Rao, Managing Director & Co-founder of Arya Ag. talked about the lack of attention on Postharvest policies and schemes as well as stresses on the need for tax exemptions in budget 2022-23 for R&D based Agri startups. He suggests more digitalization in Post-harvest so that farmers can reap more benefits from it.

He presented the core view for Women-led FPOs that are more efficient than that of other FPOs. Feminization in agriculture, as well as the development of specific policies for Women, led –FPOs can contribute to significant improvement of Agri sector, he further added.

Satish Tiwari, Senior General Manager, Head expert Marketing Corromandel International Limited, started the contribution in this fruitful discussion by quoting “ Agriculture in India is not a profession, It is a way of life”, and Further added his views on the challenges and ways for improvement.

Stressing on the statement of the Government to double farmer's income by 2022, he added the three ways which can contribute significantly to achieving the goal including reduced cost input(e.g Fertilizers, pesticides), Better production, and the better price for farmers produce.

Suyog Kulkarni, founder of Khet Aadhar Private Limited suggests the need for more advanced technology to come up with some positive result value. Stressing on the need for investment in policies as well as Agri startups, he pointed out the need for Kisan khet clinic in Indian Agriculture.