In the Union Budget 2022-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a new public-private partnership (PPP) scheme for the delivery of digital and hi-tech services to farmers, as well as new fund with blended capital to finance startups for agricultural and rural enterprise.
"A scheme in PPP mode will be launched for the delivery of digital and hi-tech services to farmers with the involvement of public sector research and extension institutions as well as private agri-tech players and stakeholders of the agri-value chain," Sitharaman said during her budget speech in Lok Sabha.
"A fund with blended capital raised under the co-investment approach would be facilitated through NABARD," she added. This is to finance agricultural and rural enterprise start-ups that are related to the farm product value chain. These start-ups' operations will encompass, among other things, FPO assistance, farm-level machinery rental, and technology, including IT-based support."
She also stated that the use of 'Kisan Drones' for crop evaluation, digitalization of land records, and spraying of pesticides and fertilizers will be promoted.
According to the budget documents, some existing Agriculture Ministry schemes have had their funding reduced or increased marginally.
For instance, in the Union Budget 2022-23, the government has allocated Rs.68000 crore for Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan), which is only 4.6 percent higher than the Budget Estimates of Rs.65000 crore for 2021-22 and only 0.74 percent higher than the Revised Estimates of Rs.67500 crore for the current fiscal year.
The government provides Rs.6000 to qualified beneficiary farmer families in three equal four-monthly installments of Rs.2000 each under the PM-KISAN scheme. On January 1, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the 10th installment of the PM-Kisan. A total of Rs.20946 crore was put into the bank accounts of the country's 10.09 crore farmers.
The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) allocation has been maintained at Rs.15500 crore for fiscal year 2022-23, which is lower than the Budget Estimates of Rs.16000 crore for 2021-22 and revised estimates of Rs.15989.39 crore for the current fiscal year.
Similarly, the budget for the Market Intervention Scheme and Price Support Scheme (MIS-PSS) has been lowered from Rs.3595.61 crore in RE 2021-22 to Rs.1500 crore in 2022-23.
The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY)-Per Drop More Crop funding has been decreased from Rs.4000 crore in RE 2021-22 to Rs.2000 crore in 2022-23.
"A rationalized and comprehensive scheme to promote local production of oilseeds will be adopted to lessen our reliance on imports of oilseeds," she added.
Sitharaman stated that the wheat procurement in Rabi 2021-22 and the estimated paddy purchase in Kharif 2021-22 will include 1208 lakh metric tonnes of wheat and paddy from 163 lakh farmers, with a direct payment of Rs.2.37 lakh crore to their accounts.
Sitharaman further stated that Chemical-free Natural Farming will be promoted throughout the country, with a concentration on farmers' lands in 5-km wide corridors along the Ganga in the outset.
She also stated that states would be urged to update agricultural university curricula to satisfy the demands of natural, zero-budget, and organic farming, contemporary agriculture, value addition, and management.
The finance minister also announced that the government will provide a comprehensive package, with the assistance of state governments to farmers to encourage them to employ appropriate fruit and vegetable varieties, as well as production and harvesting techniques. She also stated that the government will implement policies and necessary legal amendments to boost agroforestry and private forestry. "In addition, financial assistance would be offered to farmers from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who choose to engage in agro-forestry," she said.
