The 2023 Union Budget aims to increase the agriculture credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore with a focus on animal husbandry and fisheries. In connection to this, Rs 2,200 crore will be allocated to develop and provide disease free planting material, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her speech, adding that the Budget allocation will be farmer centric. An accelerator fund will be set up for agriculture startups, and a public-private partnership between the farmers, state and industries will be set up to boost the growth and export of cotton.
FM Nirmala said that the aim was to make India the global hub for millet research and dubbed millets as “Shri Anna”. The Indian Institute of Millets in Hyderabad will be made into a centre of excellence. The budget also allocated Rs 2,516 crore to computerise 63,000 agricultural societies across the country. The Budget aims to create a massive decentralised storage for agricultural crops, she said.
A target investment of Rs 6,000 crores has been allocated for developing fisheries as a sub-scheme of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. Over the next five years, the government aims to set up farming, fishing and dairy cooperatives in villages and panchayats which do not have these societies.
In the previous budget, Rs 1.32 lakh crore was allocated for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. Fisheries was given Rs 2,118 crore while animal husbandry and dairy received Rs 3,919 crore.