Introduction
- Why Agriculture is a Key Focus Area?
Since Independence, the agriculture sector has been one of the major contributors to India’s GDP. During the financial year 1950-1951, 59% contribution to the GDP came from the agriculture sector. Though the contribution of the sector hasn’t remained as high, its contribution still forms a crucial part and tremendously to the country’s development.
Another reason why the agriculture sector is a key focus area in the Union Budget 2025 is because the agriculture sector in India is responsible for the employment of more than half of the total population of the country. When compared to developed nations, 54.6% of India’s total population is engaged in the agriculture sector. The economy of India is an agro-economy and is extremely dependent on the agriculture sector. The sector, apart from supporting the Indian economy, also offers support to international trade and the industrial sector.
- Role of Union Budget in Shaping Agriculture
The Union budget has played an important role in helping the agriculture sector develop and thrive. For example, the 2018 Union Budget, presented by the then FM Arun Jaitley, was centred around improving rural India. This included the aim of doubling the income of farmers by 2022.
The 2023-2024 budget saw an increase in the budget allocation to the Department of Agriculture Research and Education.
Key Expectations for Agriculture
As put forth by Deloitte India, there are three expectations in particular from the Union Budget 2025 when it comes to the agriculture sector. The first is budget allocation towards developing an all-encompassing programme to help improve yield. This is mainly because 60% of food grain production is occupied by wheat and paddy. Other than this, around 15% of the pulses consumed in the country are imported. This calls for a need to diversify into crops like oilseeds, pulses, maize, millet etc. Yield improvement can help with this process.
The second is about creating a better seed ecosystem in the sector that helps India address the lag in productivity it faces in several crops. With the right budget allocation, the entire process of developing, increasing the yield and distribution of such seeds will become simpler.
The final expectation lies in the importance of fast-tracking the adoption of better digital agricultural practices. The right budget allocations with help better the adoption of services and solutions based on agriculture-tech. As a result of this, farmers will be able to reduce costs, improve their yield in quality and quantity and get better prices for their crops as well.
Deloitte again expands on two policy updates expected from the government that will positively impact the agriculture sector. The first is the adoption of a cluster approach that will have more impact in a vast country like ours and result in better execution of the policy. With the vastness of the country in focus, concentrating on administering country-wide schemes can prove to be difficult.
The second expectation, policy-wise, is the need to better the post-harvest infrastructure in the country. By making better provisions to store post-harvest yield and focusing on grading and cooling units, one can eliminate potential crop loss. Apart from this, it will also help usher in grade-based pricing of the crops being produced and sold. This will end up reducing any distress selling in farmers as well.
Trends from Previous Budgets and Their Influence on 2025
Agriculture stakeholders believe that previous budget trends could have quite a bit of influence on the decisions made during the Union Budget 2025 where the agriculture sector is concerned. Trends like the introduction of Agri-Tech could influence on the budget decisions regarding the agriculture sector. The stakeholders (e.g., farmers, agri-businesses) hope that by continuing to maintain its focus on tech provisions like drones, AI and e-NAM, the growth of the agriculture sector will accelerate growth. With these provisions also come the benefits of precision farming and supply chain digitization.
The theme of sustainability is one that undoubtedly needs to be prioritized in every aspect, specifically with the current climate in mind. Previous trends that support sustainability help increase the adoption of organic farming practices and use natural methods to boost production while also helping reduce the use of chemical fertilizers.
With the right irrigation practises, and infrastructure development being adopted in previous budgets, stakeholders are hoping that this budget can take it up a notch by investing in provisions like micro-irrigation and rural infrastructure.
To make the lives of farmers and the provisions of purchasing on credit easier, the stakeholders also expect the government to provide enhanced credit access via Kisan Credit Cards and expanded crop insurance.
Another trend that is expected to influence the Union Budget 2025 where agriculture is concerned is providing a boost to food processing and focussing on export policies to help double farmer incomes.
Challenges to Address in Budget 2025
There are quite a few challenges that the Indian agriculture sector faces in this day and age. From climate problems that lead to erratic rainfall patterns and irrigation inadequacy to soil degradation and improper crop techniques, all of them end up affecting the overall productivity of the sector.
With the adoption of and the updation of current policies, and the adoption of the right agri-tech, a lot of these issues and hurdles can be overcome to better the overall productivity of the sector while preserving the quality of the crops and helping farmers as well.