We have yet again reached that time of the year when the industry awaits the annual budget with heightened anticipation and expectations. For me personally, a conducive budget is likely to considerably improve the business prospects. And thereby, we expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nirmala Sitharaman to deliver on the hopes and aspirations of the agritech sector.
Although fairly nascent in India, the sector has the potential to improve productivity by manifold, if provided with the right kind of incentives and opportunities. At a time, when the farmers are not entirely convinced about the new farm laws, it is the perfect opportunity to provide them with avenues that would improve productivity significantly.
For this, the Modi government can either announce subsidy or cutback on taxes to farmers who opt for agritech products. Thereby encouraging farmers to adopt agritech in a big way than in the past when there wasn’t enough awareness of technological interventions in agriculture.
Besides this, agriculture was the only sector that has shown resilience during the COVID-19 crisis to grow by 3.4 percent in the current fiscal year. This remarkable achievement amidst overwhelming odds shows the unmatched potential of the agriculture sector. This growth trajectory could be acknowledged by the government through agriculture-centric policies that provide the necessary boost to the overall economy. Such policies would also help associated sectors like agritech that are aligned to agriculture.
In the current scenario, when the world is taking note of India’s efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, the government must present a budget that paves the way for economic revival. On behalf of the industry, I would like to request the government to put policies in place that allows farmers to be better aware of technology-centric approaches in farming. This can be done as an offshoot of the much-publicised “Digital India” where there was added impetus on the adoption of digital technology.
We envision a future where technology has a significant role in providing the average farmer with the best productivity from their limited means. Hope the government gives agritech the necessary opportunities and incentives to grow as a robust sector within the Indian economy.
(Views expressed in the article are author’s own.)
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