Budget 2024: Agri-research? Yes, but where is the money?

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₹9,941 crore (budget estimate or BE) for 2024-25. This is barely any improvement over the ₹9,877 crore spent in 2023-24 (revised estimate or RE). The budget for apex research institutions which include the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), central agricultural universities and the National Academy for Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) is ₹7,103 crore for 2024-25, lower than the ₹7,248 crore spent last year.

To be sure, there are other schemes beyond the remit of DARE to improve crop productivity. These schemes under the Department of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare include the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and the Krishionnati Yojana. For both these schemes, the increase in monetary allocation is paltry- from ₹14,216 crore in 2023-24 (BE) to ₹15,000 crore in 2024-25 (BE).

Also Read: Seven points to note from the Union budget The Economic Survey released on Monday observed that for every rupee invested in agricultural research, the payoff is ₹13.85- among the highest returns on investment. India is the second largest producer globally for crops like rice, wheat, sugarcane, cotton, and vegetables. It is the top producer of pulses and milk.

Yet, productivity is far below global averages, for instance productivity of oilseeds in India is less than a tonne per hectare, compared to the global average of 2.3 tonne per hectare. India is heavily dependent on edible oil imports. Similarly, India is the largest exporter of rice globally but productivity at about 4 tonne per hectare is far lower than China's 7 tonne per hectare.