Sitharaman said the Central government will promote Kisan Drones, chemical-free natural farming, public-private partnerships (PPP) for the delivery of digital and high-tech services to farmers.
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday (February 1) announced a major stimulus and slew of other decisions to benefit the agriculture and farming sector of the country during her Budget 2022 presentation speech.
Sitharaman said the Central government will promote Kisan Drones, chemical-free natural farming, public-private partnerships (PPP) for the delivery of digital and high-tech services to farmers across every nook and cranny in the country during the financial year 2022-23.
Ritwik Bahuguna, Founder- Roots Foundation and Business Director- Wazir Advisors, said that budget announcements “covered a series of agriculture-related priorities, which can broadly be linked to our Sustainable Development Goals- 2030 of responsible production and consumption.”
“The FM mentioned that chemical-free farming should be promoted across the country. This is an important step. In a country where quantity has taken precedence over quality for all these years, this is a welcome move. Yet adoption may require targeted policy support – such as input subsidies for organic inputs including fertilisers and pesticides. In many parts of the country, several internationally banned pesticides are still used. There is also a need for sharing information by mobilising self-help groups and grass-root organisations in this effort,” he added.
He also pointed out that post-harvest value addition for key commodities requires targeted production linked incentives for large-scale food processing. Under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme the outlay worth INR 10,900 crore was approved for food processing sector.
“At the outset, the government can consider increasing the outlay. Currently, it is largely distributed between larger companies and SMEs that require funds for scaling up have not received enough support. Moreover, packaging, which is an important aspect of post-harvest value addition and brand building is not adequately covered under the scheme. The packaging industry needs a boost and targeted allocations should be made,” he added.
Bahuguna also pointed out that there is need to create Brand India for a number of our commodities and for that, there is a need for dedicated programmes on marketing and product development.
“Use of technology for improving the linkages of the agricultural sector is rightly highlighted by the FM. Technology can be a catalyst for both backward and forward linkages and the private sector has a role of play. Support to private sector should be given for deployment of technology in agriculture sector – for instance use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for traceability and market linkages and kisan drones for deliveries should be promoted. Subsidies on equipment purchase may be considered,” he added.
Kunal Kislay, CEO Integration Wizards Solutions, said, “Keeping up with the changing times, an overall focus on the adoption of technology across sectors such as agriculture, education, finance and infrastructure will fast-track India’s transition into a digitally-enabled economy.”
Kislay added that technological intervention in the agricultural sector through delivery of digital and hi-tech services to farmers in PPP mode, use of Kisan Drones to aid farmers and launching a fund with blended capital to finance agriculture startups is an extremely positive move. This will open a new door of opportunities for agritech and drone as a service startups in upscaling their businesses.
