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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | If it's a farm budget from Arun Jaitley, then it needs to be a smart one

If it's a farm budget from Arun Jaitley, then it needs to be a smart one

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published Published on Jan 19, 2018   modified Modified on Jan 19, 2018
-The Economic Times

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has given ample hint that Budget 2018 is going to be a farmer's Budget. Jaitley has said the agriculture sector is the top priority for the government because the country's economic growth is not justifiable and equitable unless the benefits were clear and evident in the farm sector.

After launching options trading in guar seed on commodity exchange NCDEX yesterday, Jaitley said, "We see in some places the problem of falling prices because of higher production. Farmers are not getting the price for their produce."

There is indication that Budget 2018 can be full of farm freebies, not just because the government thinks that economic growth is not justifiable and equitable but also because farm distress can spoil the BJP's electoral chances. The Gujarat assembly elections saw erosion in the BJP's rural base. Elections are coming up this year in several predominantly agricultural states. And this is the last full Budget before the Lok Sabha elections next year.
However, more freebies will not ensure that the farm sector comes out of its long crisis. The farm freebies have already distorted Indian agriculture by incentivising what can work no longer. Free water and power and price support for rice and wheat have kept Indian agriculture down. Since freebies appear to be helping the farm sector, they take the focus off modernisation that can have a long-term positive impact on agriculture.

"The point is the policy focus of Indian agriculture needs to shift. Instead of promising free water, which cannot last forever, GoI needs to ensure that farmers use modern technologies that minimise water use. Instead of giving fertiliser subsidies, of which only a third reach the intended beneficiaries, it needs to introduce, educate and incentivise farmers of the use of technologies that optimise fertiliser use and minimise cost. Instead of asking for loan waivers, farmers and their organisations should shift to technologies that result in efficient use of these loans," says Neeraj Kaushal, a professor of social policy at Columbia University in the US.

That's why if Jaitley has to present a farmer's Budget, it needs to be a smart one, focusing on key schemes that promote new technology and making it easier for farmers to access this. Several studies have found how the use of micro-irrigation technologies lowered electricity and fertiliser consumption while increasing productivity of various crops. "Among the many reasons why farmers have not adopted new modes of irrigation are lack of initial capital for installing these devices and limited knowledge about micro-irrigation schemes. There is substantial subsidy for drip irrigation and sprinklers as well, but clearly not good enough because of upfront costs, delays in subsidy disbursement and, most of all, free water. When water is free, farmers have little incentive make investments to conserve it," says Kaushal.

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The Economic Times, 16 January, 2018, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/if-its-a-farm-budget-from-arun-jaitley-then-it-needs-to-be-a-smart-one/articleshow/62520976.cms


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