What Does The New Union Budget Have In Store For India's Farmers?

Nirmala Sitharaman, the country's finance minister, has presented the country's budget for the fiscal year 2022-23. Many announcements for farmers have also been made as part of this.

Nirmala Sitharaman, the country's finance minister, has presented the country's budget for the fiscal year 2022-23. Many announcements for farmers have also been made as part of this. The big news in this is that the government would make greater government purchases of the crop at MSP from farmers. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated in her budget address that the government will purchase 1208 metric tonnes of wheat at the MSP from 163 lakh farmers this session. This has been budgeted for Rs 2.37 lakh crore. This money will be delivered straight to the farmers' accounts.

The government will purchase 1208 metric tonnes of wheat at the MSP (Brett Jordan, Unsplash)

The Finance Minister stated that a focus would be placed on the employment of new technology drones in agriculture as a result of this. Pesticide-free farming will be promoted at the same time. Apart from that, the budget has a number of announcements for farmers that would be beneficial to Indian agriculture. In the middle of all of this, the farmers' expectations from the budget have not been met. There was no mention of a guarantee on MSP, nor was there any discussion of raising the amount of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi given to farmers. This budget may thus be described as a suitable budget for farmers.

Pesticide-free farming will be promoted unlike the traditional Indian farms which use a lot of chemical additives (Arjun Mj, Unsplash)

The Finance Minister made ten key announcements for farmers in the Budget 2022-23, which are as follows:

This season, 163 lakh farmers would supply 1208 metric tonnes of wheat at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). In exchange, the government would pay Rs 2.37 lakh crore to farmers' accounts.

Zero-budget and organic farming, contemporary agriculture, value addition, and management will be highlighted.
The initiative to join the Ken and Betwa rivers has been announced. The project would cost Rs 44,000 crore to complete.
New PPP projects will be created to help farmers become more digital and hi-tech.
Drones will be encouraged to be used for agricultural appraisal, land records, and pesticide application.
Furthermore, 100 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals will be constructed.
Farmers will be able to access funds through NABARD.
Farmers will become hi-tech as a result of the support for beginning FPOs.
Coarse cereals have been designated as the year 2023.
Farmers will have access to digital services. States will also be urged to resurrect agriculture universities.
Chemical-free natural farming would be encouraged across the country, with a particular focus on farmers' land along the Ganges' banks.