Budget 2024-25: Prof Rajeev Varshney Advocates for R&D, Technology, and Regional Yield Improvements in Indian Agriculture

While agriculture contributes over 16 per cent to India’s GDP, it is responsible for the livelihoods of about 60% of the population. To meet the ambitious targets of Viksit Bharat@2047 set by Prime Minister Modi, India needs to become a global leader in agriculture. Therefore, the Union Budget 2024 is an opportunity to transform India's agricultural landscape and make the country stronger in this space.

The Union Budget 2024 should help country focusing on the immediate priorities as well as long-term strategic goals. In my opinion, the government should create a self-reliant agricultural sector to ensure food security and economic prosperity for the nation. I am looking forward the Union Budget 2024 helping in Indian agriculture in the following key areas:

(1) Enhanced R&D expenditure by having a dedicated fund (in addition to the staff salary and infrastructure) for undertaking research to develop better crop varieties, high-quality seeds and other technologies,

(2) Enhanced adoption of agricultural technologies by farmers at a large scale by having farm and farmers-centric policies,

(3) Value addition and procurement of farmer produce near farms. The government should plan to improve cold storage facilities near the major producing regions can be set-up. For instance, for grains, here in Australia, we have CBH facilities. Farmers, after harvesting their crops on farms, transport them by truck to their nearest CBH receival site. Farmers should be provided direct access to markets/ consumers.

(4) Addressing the labour challenge and workforce upskilling. A dedicated fund should be planned for farmer training programs to educate farmers about various aspects of agriculture and technology adoption.

(5) Enhanced export markets for agriculture produce (including grains, fruits and vegetables). For this, the budget should have a provision on quality produce as well as food safety issues to meet international standards. It is imperative to enhance export values to ensure farmers’ income.

Finally, the budget can have higher emphasis on the states (and probably at district level) with low agriculture yield. For instance, several states in Eastern part of India, such as eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam have 40-50% lower yield for several crops as compared to Punjab, Madhya Pradesh etc. If these states/ districts can be focused, agricultural productivity can be improved at a faster pace.