Budget lays foundation of digital revolution in agriculture: Rajiv Tevtiya

We believe government’s continued focus to double farmer’s income within the next 5 years was at the heart of the BharatNet. The digital revolution has potential not only to improve productivity, but also provide access to new means of finance which could be small finance banks, payment banks. There is also possibility of needs based financing which could be pre-sowing to post harvest somethings on the lines of personal loans, education loans etc. 

Soil health card scheme will see gain in momentum with the government’s decision to rope in qualified local entrepreneurs and tasking with them to set up 1000 mini labs. Incentivising them with credit linked subsidy will further fuel the growth in adoption of soil testing. A farmer making better decisions during the sowing seasons is a decisive factor in many areas thus directly linked to the income earned by them and we believe technology will play an important role on real time basis using high speed internet. 

Knowledge-driven services for agriculture, when complemented with support given by the government, can bring a revolution in the way farming is practiced in India. For example, the dedicated Micro Irrigation Fund that is announced to be set up by NABARD to achieve the goal, ‘per drop more crop’ when packaged with information on soil health and recommendation on the best-suited crop for that area, will enable the farmer to make decisions that will not only safe-guard their investment but also possibly significantly increasing their investment. If, now, the farmer is also provided with information on selling prices at various mandis for his produce, the farmer is empowered to make decisions that are sound. The possibilities are endless.

Increasing the target for agricultural credit by Rs 1 lakh crore, highest in past two years, to Rs 10 lakh crore along with 60 days interest waiver further shows the commitment of government in extending its full support to farmers and also trying its best to double their income in five years. Besides, investment of Rs 1,900 crore over three years for computerisation and integration of all 63,000 functional Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) will ensure seamless flow of credit to small and marginal farmers.
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Rajiv Tevtiya is the managing partner & CEO of RML AgTech