As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present her first Union Budget, one sector that needs special attention is agriculture. Structural changes are the need of the hour in the sector, which lacks basic infrastructure. Proper roads connecting the farms to the nearest mandis, safe warehouses and other facilities at the markets, agro-processing units located near mandis — all these will give the farm sector the huge boost it needs, and will address farmers’ suffering caused by the poor policies in place until now. Given the water crisis in the country, there should be increased allocation to micro-irrigation schemes and water conservation projects.
In this video, Deputy Editor Rajalakshmi Nirmal explains what is troubling the farmers and what they expect from the Budget.
