Budget 2024: Government aims to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses and oilseeds

To enhance vegetable supply chains, the government plans to develop large-scale clusters for vegetable production near major consumption centres and promote Farmer Producer Organisations, cooperatives, and startups

In the first budget of the Modi 3.0 government, Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister presented the Union Budget 2024-25. She outlined a roadmap for ‘Vikasit Bharat’ with 9 priority areas, one of which is productivity and resilience in agriculture and energy security. The government aims to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses and oilseeds by strengthening production, storage, and marketing. Additionally, a strategy has been put in place to achieve self-reliance in oilseeds such as mustard, groundnuts, sesame, soybean, and sunflowers, as announced in the interim budget. The budget also allocates Rs 1.52 lakh crore for the agriculture and allied sectors.

To enhance vegetable supply chains, the government plans to develop large-scale clusters for vegetable production near major consumption centres and promote Farmer Producer Organisations, cooperatives, and startups. The budget also includes plans to review agricultural research to develop climate-resilient seeds and promote digital public infrastructure for agriculture in partnership with states.

Furthermore, the government aims to initiate one crore farmers in natural farming over the next two years and allocate Rs 2.66 lakh crore for rural development. The budget also proposes a comprehensive review of the agricultural research setup, overseen by domain experts, to improve productivity and develop climate-resilient varieties. Additionally, it includes plans to conduct a digital crop survey for Kharif crops in 400 districts and integrate farmer and land details into registries.

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