Marginal Hike For Agriculture 

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

In News 

• Farmer organisations across the political spectrum criticised the Union Budget 2026–27.

Agricultural Sector Announcements in  Union Budget 2026–27 

• The Union Budget 2026–27 has increased the allocation for the agriculture sector by 2.6%, adding about ₹3,000 crore compared to last year, even as the Economic Survey reported a slowdown in agricultural growth. 
• The Finance Minister proposed ₹1.3 lakh crore for agriculture, slightly higher than the 2025–26 Budget Estimate and the Revised Estimate, but close to the actual spending in 2024–25.
• The Fertilizer Ministry received a larger boost, with an allocation of ₹1.7 lakh crore—an increase of around 8.5% over the previous year. 

Key initiatives in agriculture and allied sectors

• Shift from crops to allied sectors as income engines: The Budget signals a shift in agricultural income strategy from crops to allied sectors, with most announcements focused on fisheries and animal husbandry.
  • It emphasises expanding inland and coastal fisheries, strengthening value chains, and improving marketing through startups, women-led groups, and producer organisations. Livestock initiatives focus on infrastructure modernisation and value-chain development, indicating a move away from cereal-based farming towards fisheries, livestock, dairy, and poultry.
• Geographic crop strategy, not generic agriculture: The Budget announced ₹350 crore to promote high-value crops and it prioritises seven place-specific crops—coconut, cocoa, cashew, almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, and sandalwood—targeted to coastal, hilly, Northeastern, and plantation regions.
  • Through schemes like the Coconut Promotion Scheme and dedicated programmes for cashew and cocoa, the focus is on boosting production, productivity, and export competitiveness, reflecting an agriculture strategy based on regional comparative advantage.
• Market access over production support: The Budget prioritises market access over production support, focusing on sales channels rather than just farming.
  •  It promotes fish and livestock FPOs, community-owned SHE Marts leveraging SHGs, and strengthens cooperatives through targeted tax reliefs, including deductions for member-supplied inputs, inter-cooperative dividends, and temporary exemptions for national cooperative federations distributing benefits to members.
• Logistics and trade architecture as agri policy: The Budget proposes farm-to-market reforms, including a single-window clearance for food, plant, animal, and wildlife cargo by April 2026, alongside investments in AI-based container scanning, warehouse digitisation, and dedicated freight corridors, including waterways.
• Agriculture as part of digital governance and bio-economy: The Budget proposes to launch Bharat-VISTAAR, an AI–enabled digital advisory platform  aimed at integrating agricultural data and advisory services to improve farm productivity and decision-making.
  •  On waste to value generation, the Budget proposes to remove the excise duty payable on compressed biogas (CBG).

Objectives 

• The Budget aims to boost farmer incomes by promoting crop diversification and allied sectors, generate rural and peri-urban employment through fisheries and animal husbandry
• It enhances sustainability via integrated water management and climate-resilient practices.
• It also focuses on digital empowerment, leveraging AI and technology for precision farming and improved market linkages.

Concerns 

• Farmer  argued that the budget ignored major demands such as a statutory Minimum Support Price (MSP), farm debt relief, and solutions to challenges arising from global trade and tariff pressures, calling it a gap between government promises and actual budgetary support.
• The Budget reduces spending on crop insurance, PMKSY, agricultural research (DARE), and food processing ,indicating limited fiscal support for long-term productivity and innovation despite policy emphasis.
• The allocation for PM Kisan Samman Nidhi was retained at ₹63,500 crore, with no increase.
•  Spending on Agriculture Research and Education was cut by 4.8%, dropping to ₹9,967.4 crore.

Governments stand 

• The Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of India described the Union Budget 2026–27 as “historic and unprecedented,” saying it strengthens the foundation for a developed and self-reliant India. 
• It focuses on farmers, youth, women and the poor, with villages at its core. The Rural Development budget has been increased by 21%, and combined allocations for the Rural Development and Agriculture ministries now exceed ₹4.35 lakh crore. 

Conclusion and Way Forward 

• The Union Budget 2026–27 focuses on climate-resilient agriculture, inclusive growth for smallholders and women, and technology-driven market access, while linking agriculture to broader rural development. 
• The Budget adopts a systems approach, integrating agriculture across seven priorities to strengthen the ecosystem rather than focusing on direct farming interventions.
• Its success depends on translating allocations into tangible benefits through structural and climate-adaptive reforms.

Source :IE