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Budget 2024-25 Missing Dairy Focus again

July 23, 2024
7:35 pm
GMT+5:30
Updated 2 months ago

The much-awaited budget for FY 25 by Modi 3.0 has been presented. As a dairy farmer, I searched the Finance Minister’s speech for words such as cow, livestock, dairy, milk, animal husbandry, methane, manure, FMD, Brucellosis, and biogas. Unfortunately, none of these terms were mentioned even once.

I then looked for other key terms and found the following mentions: marine (2), farmers (7), fish (6), and cooperatives (2). However, there was no mention of farming or the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund.

This reminded me of last year’s budget, where the Finance Minister highlighted seven priorities: Inclusive Development, Reaching the Last Mile, Infrastructure and Investment, Unleashing Potential, Green Growth, Youth Power, and the Financial Sector. These priorities were collectively described as Saptarishi.

This year,the budget outlines nine priorities,which may be referred to as Navratna.

Productivity and Resilience in Agriculture
2. Employment & Skilling
3. Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice
4. Manufacturing & Services
5. Urban Development
6. Energy Security
7. Infrastructure
8. Innovation, Research & Development
9. Next Generation Reforms

I was thrilled to see “Productivity and Resilience in Agriculture” as one of the priorities and delved deeper into it. However, to my profound dismay, none of these priorities touched upon the crucial dairy sector.

Priority 1: Productivity and Resilience in Agriculture

Transforming Agriculture Research –

Our government will undertake a comprehensive review of the agriculture research setup to focus on raising productivity and developing climate-resilient varieties. Funding will be provided in a challenge mode, including to the private sector. Domain experts from both the government and outside will oversee the conduct of such research.

Release of New Varieties

New 109 high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticulture crops will be released for cultivation by farmers.

Natural Farming

In the next two years, 1 crore farmers across the country will be initiated into natural farming, supported by certification and branding. Implementation will be through scientific institutions and willing gram panchayats. Ten thousand need-based bio-input resource centres will be established.

Missions for Pulses and Oilseeds

To achieve self-sufficiency in pulses and oilseeds, we will strengthen their production, storage, and marketing. As announced in the interim budget, a strategy is being put in place to achieve ‘atmanirbharta’ for oilseeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower.

Vegetable Production & Supply Chains

Large-scale clusters for vegetable production will be developed closer to major consumption centres. We will promote Farmer-Producer Organizations, cooperatives, and start-ups for vegetable supply chains, including for collection, storage, and marketing.

Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture

Buoyed by the success of the pilot project, our government, in partnership with the states, will facilitate the implementation of the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in agriculture for coverage of farmers and their lands in three years. This year, a digital crop survey for Kharif using the DPI will be taken up in 400 districts. The details of 6 crore farmers and their lands will be brought into the farmer and land registries. Further, the issuance of Jan Samarth-based Kisan Credit Cards will be enabled in five states.

Shrimp Production & Export

Financial support for setting up a network of Nucleus Breeding Centres for Shrimp Broodstocks will be provided. Financing for shrimp farming, processing, and export will be facilitated through NABARD.

National Cooperation Policy

Our government will bring out a National Cooperation Policy for systematic, orderly, and all-around development of the cooperative sector. The policy goal will be to fast-track the growth of the rural economy and generate employment opportunities on a large scale.

Budget allocation in Animal Husbandry at a glance

Source : Union Budget 2024-25 Analysis by @SuruchiResearch

Livestock health is again the top priority of the budget with 55% allocation which is commendable. However Infrastructure development and Dairy development getting around 8% each may not do justice to the need of the sector. Rashtriya Gokul Mission at 15% is a good call. However I could not find the status of schemes like Gobardhan which were announced last year under Green Growth initiative.

Source : Union Budget 2024-25 Analysis by @SuruchiResearch

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Why dairy is not a priority ?

Despite the excitement surrounding the budget’s nine new priorities, I was disheartened to find no mention of the dairy sector. This sector is a cornerstone of our agricultural landscape, contributing to over half of agricultural emissions, supporting the largest livestock population with significantly low productivity, and directly involving 80 million households. It contributes 30% of the Gross Value Added (GVA) to agriculture, is valued at nearly USD 175 billion, and consumes more than half of the annual water available for irrigation. Yet, it remains overlooked in this budget’s agriculture-based priorities.

The Finance Minister proudly announced a provision of ₹1.52 lakh crore for agriculture and allied sectors. However, the reality is starkly different, with dairy receiving a mere ₹4,521 crores and fisheries ₹2,616 crores out of this allocation.

Such a minimal allocation to the animal husbandry sector, which receives not even 0.4% of its value, fails to recognize the immense potential and opportunities this sector offers.

Let’s Salute Laxmi the brave dairy farmer of India

I echo the sentiment expressed in my blog on last year’s budget, hoping that one day, policymakers will truly listen and act.

I salute the resilience of brave dairy farmers like Laxmi, who will continue to rise at 4 AM tomorrow to make our animal husbandry sector more meaningful and sustainable, despite the challenges they face. It is time for our policies to reflect and support their unwavering dedication.