Government Will Not Back Down With Agricultural Reforms

Government will not back down with agricultural reforms, budget will show the way.

Officials of the Ministry of Finance are busy finalizing the proposals related to the agriculture sector in the upcoming general budget, in the midst of an uproar with farmers camping in the country’s capital Delhi for several weeks.

Indications are that the government is not going to back down despite some contradictory notes about agrarian reform laws.

There will be many provisions in this budget for the goal of doubling the income of farmers, some special announcements can also be made for the farmers of Punjab and Haryana.

It will be fully taken care of in the budget that despite the terrible crisis of Corona period, the growth rate of agriculture sector has been very encouraging.

There may be some very important announcements in the direction of linking Indian agriculture with the global market.

Efforts are constantly being made to bring the crisis-ridden agriculture sector to new heights through reforms.

The central government has implemented a comprehensive scheme for the agriculture sector, which aims to double farmers’ income by 2022.

Several effective efforts have been made in this direction in the last two general budgets.

Even during the Corona period, the government has made a provision of one lakh crore rupees for the development of infrastructure in the agricultural sector.

Indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources in the Green Revolution States – Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh has led to soil erosion.

The condition of groundwater is bad. The miseries of common people have increased due to the use of excessive chemicals.

Crop diversification will have to be emphasized in the farming of these states.

In this direction, Haryana has started providing assistance of Rs 17,500 per hectare for cultivating an alternative crop instead of paddy.

In terms of food security, the second Green Revolution started in the eastern states of the country has to be accelerated.

In the agricultural sector, priority should be given to preventing the damage in post harvest practices and increasing the productivity of crops.

With the support of the minimum support price (MSP), there is a need to encourage crops that are in good demand in the market and are likely to earn more.

Cost reduction measures

Preparations for the General Budget for FY 2021-22 are in their final stages. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman can only extend the provisions of the previous budget.

With the improvement of agricultural markets, important provisions will have to be made in the general budget on measures to make Indian agricultural products penetration in the global market.

In the agricultural sector, along with reducing costs, arrangements have to be made to get good prices of the produce.

Solar energy will have to be promoted

In order to reduce the cost of farming, where the plan to install solar-based pumps will have to be pushed forward, the use of modern irrigation resources will have to be emphasized.

The use of organic manure instead of chemical fertilizer has to be encouraged.

Food Processing Industry Preferred

In order to eliminate the loss of post harvest, to facilitate the scientific storage of all the produce and the food processing industry has to be preferred.

Opening of processing units in rural areas will reduce losses and provide employment to local people.

Boost ethanol production

Ethanol production is exempted for consumption of excess agricultural production, which should be further increased. This may help reduce import dependence of petroleum products.