budget 2023
Chennai: The Union Budget of India, the world’s fastest growing economy, is going to be presented tomorrow. The progress of farmers is essential for the strengthening of the Indian economy. A top official of Lawrencedale Agro Processing (LEAF) says that if the lives of millions of marginal farmers are better and their standard of living improves, then India as a nation will easily move towards the goal of a 5 trillion dollar economy in the near future.
Palat Vijayaraghavan, Founder and CEO of Lawrencedale Agro Processing (LEAF), told IANS, “The Union Budget for FY24 to be presented on February 1 will live up to its expectations only if the farmer is kept at the centre of all discussions as they are important stakeholders. Farmers are always confused with the various and constant changes in the market as to what will be the price of their crop. We need to bring transparency for them so that farmers can plan their livelihood.”
budget 2023
Stakeholders should not lose their livelihoods
LEAF CEO Palat Vijayaraghavan said the Indian agriculture sector is at a critical crossroads and there has been an explosion of private sector participation in agriculture. “There are many intermediaries in the agriculture sector that are completely dependent on the sector and we need to bring clarity on how we can address their confusion and empower all stakeholders in the agriculture ecosystem. No one should lose their livelihood and we must ensure that this is addressed,” Palat Vijayaraghavan said.
Instilling confidence in farmers
Palat Vijayaraghavan said there are a lot of contributions that the organised sector can make for the benefit of farmers and upliftment of the sector. The organised sector has immense knowledge base and capabilities. “However these capabilities, which can be transformational, are not reaching farmers adequately. We must address this gap comprehensively for the benefit of farmers and consumers,” he said. Palat Vijayaraghavan said organised sector players in the market must ensure that no one is lost in the ecosystem and this needs to be done on an urgent basis to instill confidence in farmers.
Providing organised financial services
The second aspect that needs to be enabled is that of technology. He said, it is not enough to just give farmers a technology platform and let them work ahead. We need support to assure farmers that we are working together. Palat Vijayaraghavan said that another important screw in this whole puzzle is how we can bring financial services for the agriculture sector into the mainstream. This is the right time when we provide many organised financial services to marginal farmers which can bring significant improvement in the livelihood of marginal farmers. There is pain for the marginal farmer at every step. From soil preparation to choosing various inputs for better farming and till the last mile of finishing the crop, the life cycle of the farmer is always under stress. Given the fact that there is no certified trail of transactions, the process of accessing organised financial offerings is difficult.
Crop protection and use of right amount of crop nutrition
Vijayraghavan said, “To manage the farmers and make efficient use of organised and cost-effective financial support, we need to work closely with farmers with a scientific data-driven approach. We must ensure that they use only the right amount of crop protection and crop nutrition products, and this step will ensure that the crop is safe for consumption without chemical enrichment.” According to the Care Ratings survey, the budget expectations of the agriculture sector include some important issues related to fertilizers such as
budget 2023
- Higher allocation of subsidy for urea as well as non-urea fertilizers at the level of over Rs 2,00,000 crore.
- Incentives to promote organic fertilizers. Special incentives for setting up fertilizer plants in India to reduce dependence on imports.
- Reduction in duty on import of ammonia and phosphoric acid to improve the competitiveness of domestic fertilizer manufacturers.
