Budget 2019 agriculture wishlist: Increase farmer income, investment in R&D

Irrigation, doubling farmers' income, agricultural finance, R&D are some of the key points the government needs to focus on

Key challenges
 

• Doubling farmers’ income: In the past, focused efforts in agriculture has been around increasing yield, mechanisation, reducing post-harvest losses, etc., that are indirectly linked to farmer remuneration. However, there is still a huge gap in the optimum price realisation by farmers.

 

• Agricultural finance: Access to finance forms is an integral part for the overall value chain performance in agriculture. While Kisan Credit Card provides sufficient credit options and benefits, efficient implementation still remains a challenge.

 

• Irrigation: Over 50% of our agriculture is still rain fed, hence, there is an associated uncertainty leading to reduction in growth. There