Union Budget: FM announces direct payment of Rs2.37 lakh cr MSP value to 163 lakh farmers for wheat and paddy procurement in 2021-22 season

1 Feb 2022 , 03:32 PM

The Finance Minister announced major reforms for farmers in the Union Budget 2022 that was announced in the Parliament today. She said that the procurement of wheat in Rabi 2021-22 and the estimated procurement of paddy in Kharif 2021-22 will cover 1208 lakh metric tonnes of wheat and paddy from 163 lakh farmers, and Rs2.37 lakh cr direct payment of MSP value to their accounts.

For agriculture, the FM announced that a new scheme will be launched in PPP mode under which farmers will be provided with digital and hi-tech services. There will be involvement of public sector research and extension institutions along with private agri-tech players and stakeholders of the agri-value chain.

Emphasizing the start-up ecosystem in agriculture, Sitharaman said that a fund with blended capital, raised under the co-investment model, will be facilitated through NABARD. The fund will aim to “finance startups for agriculture & rural enterprise, relevant for farm produce value chain”. The activities for these startups will include, inter alia, machinery for farmers on a rental basis at farm level, and technology including IT-based support for FPOs.

Further, Sitharaman announced that the implementation of the Ken-Betwa Link Project, at an estimated cost of Rs44,605 crore will be taken up.  It aims to provide irrigation benefits to 9.08 lakh hectares of farmers’ lands. It will also provide a “drinking water supply for 62 lakh people in addition to 103 MW of Hydro, and 27 MW of solar power.

In Ken-Betwa Link Project, she added that allocations of Rs4,300 crore in RE 2021-22 and Rs1,400 crore in 2022-23 have been made for this project. She further reiterated that the draft DPRs of five river links- Damanganga-Pinjal, Par-Tapi- Narmada, Godavari-Krishna, Krishna-Pennar and Pennar-Cauvery have been finalized. The Centre will provide support for implementation after the consensus among beneficiary states.

While highlighting the use of new technology, the Finance Minister also said that the use of ‘Kisan Drones’ will be promoted for crop assessment, digitization of land records, spraying of insecticides, and nutrients.

This budget also focused on natural farming devoid of any chemical use. The Finance Minister said, “Chemical-free Natural Farming will be promoted throughout the country, with a focus on farmers’ lands in 5-km wide corridors along river Ganga, at the first stage”.

FM announced the implementation of a comprehensive scheme for boosting domestic oilseeds production. She said, “To reduce dependence on import of oilseeds, a rationalised and comprehensive scheme to increase domestic production of oilseeds will be implemented”.

Also, the FM announced that the government will provide a comprehensive package with the participation of state governments so that the farmers can adopt “suitable varieties of fruits and vegetables”, and can use “appropriate production and harvesting techniques”.

She further highlighted that the states will be encouraged to revise syllabi of agricultural universities to meet the needs of natural, zero-budget and organic farming, modern-day agriculture, value addition and management.