Key Announcements:
Announcement 1: Increased Agriculture Credit Allocation to 20 Lakh Crores: The agriculture credit target has increased to Rs. 20 lakh crores, with the focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries about 11% higher than Union Budget 2022. In addition, 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies are being digitized with an investment of Rs. 2,516 crores.
- Impact: The agri credit outlay and the digitization of agri credit societies are expected to enable inclusive farmer-centric solutions and help improve access to farm inputs and infrastructure.
Announcement 2: Accelerator Agriculture Fund of INR 2,200 Cr.: An agriculture accelerator fund to encourage agri-tech startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas will focus on bringing innovative solutions to challenges faced by farmers. It will also bring modern technologies to transform agricultural practices and increase productivity and profitability.
- Impact: With about INR 6,600 Cr. raised by the agri-tech startup space in the last four years, a unique accelerator fund is expected to boost the technological transformation in the agriculture sector through farmers’ access to technologies, improving farm incomes.
Announcement 3: Sub-scheme under PMMSY Scheme: A new sub-scheme of Pradhan Mantri Matsya SAMPADA Yojana will be launched with a targeted investment of Rs 6,000 crore to further enable activities of fishermen, fish vendors, and micro and small enterprises. It will also improve value chain efficiencies and expand the market.
- Impact: Improved access to infrastructure for the fisheries and the aquaculture sector
Announcement 4: Improved Access to Better-quality Agri Inputs: PM-PRANAM will be launched to incentivize states to promote alternative fertilizers. In addition, over the next three years, one crore farmers will get assistance to adopt natural farming, and 10,000 bio-input resource centers will be established.
To improve the availability of disease-free and high-quality planting material for high-value horticultural crops, the Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme was announced with an outlay of Rs. 2,200 Cr.
- Impact: The PM PRANAM Scheme, with the provision for bio-input resources, is expected to incentivize states, Union Territories, and farmers to promote alternative fertilizers (including organic fertilizers) and the balanced use of chemical fertilizers. Access to disease-free quality plant inputs will facilitate diversified agriculture through increased horticulture production.
Announcement 5: Improved Access to Agri Infrastructure & Storage: The government plans to set up massive, decentralized storage capacity to help farmers.
- Impact: Setting up accessible storage will enable farmers to sell at an appropriate time, enhancing price realization.
Overall Impact: Positive
Overall Analysis: The Union Budget 2023-24 provided higher impetus on regenerative agriculture, inclusive growth, improved access to agriculture credit, and better-quality agriculture inputs, digitization, and technological development. The budget also focuses on public-private partnerships through the Clean Plant Program, a cluster-based approach for value chain development, and creating a digital public infrastructure for agriculture. The increased farm credit, access to better-quality inputs through the clean plant program, and investments in digital infrastructure will facilitate increasing farm-level productivity and farm income levels. In addition, budgetary allocation for the PMMSY Sub-scheme, decentralized storage, and the cluster-based value chain approach will lead to more inclusive growth and facilitate access to innovative agriculture technologies through the agri-tech startup ecosystem.
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