Under the Union Agriculture Ministry, there are three departments -- Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC), Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries and Department of Agricultural Research and Education.
DAC has received an allocation of Rs 15,500 crore for the current fiscal against budget estimate of Rs 16,646 crore.
Sources said the DAC has sought over Rs 27,000 crore budget for 2016-17 fiscal keeping in view the implementation of major schemes, especially Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMSKY), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojan (PMFBY) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Krishi Unnati Yojana.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the 2016-17 Budget on February 29.
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More funds are expected to be allocated for new crop insurance scheme, PMSKY and RKVY. However, the budget allocation for the Krishi Unnati Yojana (KUY) is expected to be lower at around Rs 7,000 crore in the 2016-17 fiscal, as against Rs 7,500 crore this year, they said.
The agriculture ministry has informed the finance ministry that any reduction in KUY would impact implementation of sub-schemes including soil health card programme, the sources said.
Quick and efficient implementation of crop insurance and irrigation schemes are crucial as the country is reeling under back-to-back drought and facing challenges of climate change.
Although agriculture contributes only about 13-14 per cent to the country's GDP, about 50 per cent of the population is dependent on the farm sector.