Budget 2024: ‘Atmanirbhar’ Oilseeds Scheme, Dairy Development Programme On Govt’s Agenda

Interim Budget: FM said that the government will promote private and public investment in post-harvest activities including aggregation, modern storage, efficient supply chains, and marketing, etc

The Finance Minister also revealed that the government will be applying Nano DAP (a type of fertiliser) on several crops in all agro-climatic zones, post the successful adaptation of Nano Urea. ( Image Source :Getty )

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who presented the Interim Budget 2024 on Thursday, highlighted farmers are among the top priorities of the Narendra Modi-led government. Reinforcing the sentiment, she said, “We need to focus on four major castes. They are, ‘Garib’ (Poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (Women), ‘Yuva’ (Youth), and ‘Annadata’ (Farmer). Their needs, their aspirations, and their welfare are our highest priority.”

Along with boosting the existing schemes, the minister also revealed new initiatives to be set up by the government for the development of the dairy sector. She added that the Atmanirbhar Oilseeds Abhiyaan will be expanded further along with other programmes to increase productivity across various segments under the agricultural sector including dairy, fisheries, oilseeds, etc. 

Boost Investment In Post-Harvest Activities

The government aims to boost initiatives to increase value addition in the agricultural sector and stated that it will work to step up efforts to supplement the farmers’ income. “Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana has benefitted 38 lakh farmers and generated 10 lakh employment. Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Yojana has assisted 2.4 lakh SHGs and sixty thousand individuals with credit linkages. Other schemes are complementing the efforts for reducing postharvest losses, and improving productivity and incomes,” the Finance Minister said.

Sitharaman also announced that the government will promote private and public investment in post-harvest activities including aggregation, modern storage, efficient supply chains, primary and secondary processing, marketing, and branding. 

Nano-DAP

The Finance Minister also revealed that the government will be applying Nano DAP (a type of fertiliser) on several crops in all agro-climatic zones, post the successful adaptation of Nano Urea. Nano Urea is a nanotechnology-based agricultural input that gives nitrogen to plants. In comparison to a typical urea pill, the product includes a desirable particle size of nearly 20-50 nm, more surface area (10,000 times over 1 mm urea prill), and the number of particles (55,000 nitrogen particles over 1 mm urea prill). Agricultural inputs are any external product put into the soil to help increase and improve the yield. These can range from high-quality seeds to high-tech tractors. 

Atmanirbhar Oilseeds Abhiyaan

The Finance Minister also announced that the government will be building on its Atmanirbhar Oilseeds Abhiyaan launched in 2022. She added that the government will develop a strategy to achieve ‘atmanirbharta’ (self-reliant) for oil seeds like mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower. The scheme will include research for high-yielding varieties, enhanced adoption of modern farming techniques, market linkages, procurement, value addition, and crop insurance, the minister informed in the Budget address.

Dairy Development 

The government will be setting up a comprehensive programme for providing support to dairy farmers and the scheme will be developed on the success of existing initiatives such as Rashtriya Gokul Mission, National Livestock Mission, and Infrastructure Development Funds for dairy processing and animal husbandry. “India is the world’s largest milk producer but with low productivity of milch-animals. Efforts are already on to control foot and mouth disease,” Sitharaman added. 

Fisheries

Addressing the needs of the fisheries sector, Sitharaman said, “It was our government which set up a separate Department for Fisheries realising the importance of assisting fishermen. This has resulted in doubling of both inland and aquaculture production. Seafood export since 2013-14 has also doubled.”

She elaborated that the government will further enhance the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) to boost aquaculture productivity to 5 tons per hectare from the current level of 3 tons per hectare. The minister added that the scheme will aim to double the exports to touch Rs 1 lakh crore and generate 55 lakh employment opportunities. Further, five integrated aquaparks will also be setup to boost the industry. 

The government also increased the allocation for the PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme to Rs 880 crore for FY25, against the allocation of Rs 639 crore for FY24. Reacting to the Budget, Sanjay Borkar, CEO and Co-Founder, FarmERP, said, "The budget underscores a transformative vision for the AgTech sector, allocating a substantial corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore to fuel private sector research and innovation in emerging domains. The Finance Minister's recognition of the sector's potential for inclusive, balanced, and heightened growth through technology and innovation, particularly driven by startups, demonstrates a commitment to agricultural advancement. Prioritizing timely financial support, relevant technologies, and training for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) aligns with the government's goal of global competitiveness."