New Delhi, Jul 23 (IANS): Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman announced an outlay of Rs 1.52 lakh crore in Budget 2024-25 to boost production and resilience in the agriculture and allied sectors.

The measures unveiled to enhance productivity and resilience in the agriculture sector include use of digital public infrastructure, 'atmanirbharta' for oil seeds, large-scale clusters for vegetable production, and financial support for the network of Nucleus Breeding Centres for shrimp broodstock.

Terming ‘Annadata’ (farmer) as one of four major castes which need to be focused upon, the minister said that the government has announced higher Minimum Support Prices a month ago for all major crops, delivering on the promise of at least a 50 per cent margin over costs.

Buoyed by the success of the pilot project, the 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 3 years.

The Finance Minister said that during this year, a digital crop survey for Kharif using 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. The issuance of Jan Samarth-based Kisan Credit Cards will be enabled in 5 states.

Sitharaman said that a strategy is being put in place to achieve ‘atmanirbharta’ for oil seeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower. The government will strengthen their production, storage and marketing.

She also said that large-scale clusters for vegetable production will be developed closer to major consumption centres. The government will promote Farmer-Producer Organisations, cooperatives and start-ups for vegetable supply chains including for collection, storage, and marketing of the products. She said that financial support for setting up a network of Nucleus Breeding Centres for shrimp broodstocks will be provided. The financing for shrimp farming, processing and export will be facilitated through NABARD.

The Finance Minister also announced that the government will undertake a comprehensive review of the agriculture research set-up to bring the focus on raising productivity and developing climate-resilient varieties. Funding will be provided in challenge mode, including to the private sector. Domain experts both from the government and outside will oversee the conduct of such research, she added.

She said another 109 new high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticulture crops will be released for cultivation by farmers. The Finance Minister also announced that in the next two years, one 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 and 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centres will be established for the purpose, she added.

Besides, the government will bring out a National Cooperation Policy for systematic, orderly and all-round development of the cooperative sector. Fast-tracking growth of the rural economy and generation of employment opportunities on a large scale will be the policy goal, she added.