A Budget without a vision for agriculture

Context:

The 2023-24 budget has failed to address the twin crisis in agriculture in India, which includes food and fertilizer shortages.

Overview of Indian Agriculture Budget 2023

Twin crisis in food and fertilizer prices globally and domestically.
Union government’s objective to protect farmers and consumers and raise net income from cultivation.

Expectations from the Budget:

It must have protected farmers and consumers from the food and fertilizer crises;
It must have taken steps to raise net incomes from cultivation.

Disappointing Allocations

Fertilizer subsidies have also been cut from ₹2.25 lakh crore to ₹1.75 lakh crore.
Allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been cut from ₹73,000 crore in 2022-23 (BE) to ₹60,000 crore in 2023-24 (BE).
No relief for farmers in terms of compensatory rise in output prices
No scientific validation for the promotion of natural farming.

Capital Expenditure

Utter neglect in capital investment in agriculture
Requirement of capital investment in irrigation and markets (mandis)
Total capex of government in 2022-23 was ₹7.5 lakh crore
Allocation under capital accounts of crop husbandry, animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries was ₹119 crore in 2022-23
Expected to fall to ₹84.3 crore in 2023-24
Budgeted allocation for irrigation and flood control was ₹350 crore in 2022-23 and expected to fall to ₹325 crore in 2023-24
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)

Lack of Capital Expenditure

Neglect in allocation for capital investment in agriculture
Allocations for various schemes not listed in Budget documents
Fragmented allocations thinly spread across departments with limited impact on agriculture

Conclusion