Price range 2026-27, offered on Sunday, and Financial Survey 2025-26, offered on Friday, each referenced the “reform categorical” that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken about earlier, highlighting the tempo of structural modifications underway. Finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman famous on Sunday that over 350 reforms have been undertaken since August 15, 2025, and indicated that the approaching yr would proceed this momentum. In opposition to the backdrop of such dynamism, one anticipated agriculture — so central to inflation, livelihoods, sustainability, and meals methods — to characteristic prominently in Sitharaman’s speech, in its outlining of the FM’s priorities for progress. It didn’t. The price range paperwork, nonetheless, current nuances price discussing.
Farmers and farming didn’t explicitly seem among the many six focus areas recognized for accelerating and sustaining financial progress within the monetary yr 2026-27. These priorities are: (i) scaling up manufacturing in seven strategic and frontier sectors; (ii) rejuvenating legacy industrial sectors; (iii) creating “Champion MSMEs”; (iv) delivering a strong push to infrastructure; (v) guaranteeing long-term vitality safety and stability; and (vi) growing Metropolis Financial Areas.
Nevertheless, the announcement of Bharat-VISTAAR — a multilingual Synthetic Intelligence (AI) advisory platform integrating AgriStack and ICAR advisories — is a big step in digitising such companies to farmers. With an allocation of ₹150 crore, this initiative makes an attempt to convey real-time, credible advisory companies to farmers by leveraging India’s rising digital agriculture structure. This digital leap is in distinction with the budgetary trajectory for agricultural R&D. The allocation for the division of agricultural analysis and training (DARE) has declined marginally in comparison with the earlier yr. Whereas the discount is small, the sign is vital: Digital dissemination is being prioritised with no corresponding strengthening of the knowledge-generation spine, at a time when local weather variability, rising pests, and yield pressures demand stronger analysis funding.
The Financial Survey made a powerful case for redesigning fertiliser subsidy by means of direct advantages switch (DBT) to farmers on a per-acre foundation, to right nutrient imbalance and monetary distortions. In distinction, the price range doesn’t advance this reform route. Allocations linked to DBT in fertiliser seem to have been diminished to negligible ranges, suggesting that this reform pathway just isn’t a direct precedence in FY27.
Allocations below irrigation programmes have seen moderation. Funding below the Har Khet Ko Pani element and the broader Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana has declined in comparison with the earlier yr’s price range estimates. With almost 45% of India’s gross cropped space nonetheless depending on rainfall, the tempo of increasing assured irrigation stays a important determinant of agricultural stability.
The price range expands the articulation of “excessive worth agriculture”. Past the standard fruit and veggies narrative, specific point out of coconut, cashew, cocoa, almonds, walnuts, and pine nuts indicators a push in direction of diversified, plantation-based and tree-crop agriculture with export and revenue potential.
The announcement of SHE-Marts to create market entry for women-owned enterprises is a crucial gender-inclusion measure. Constructing on the SHG ecosystem, these women-owned retail platforms can grow to be important nodes for advertising processed meals, livestock merchandise, fisheries produce, and horticulture items.
Lastly, the Price range’s strongest oblique help to agriculture comes by means of its deep push to infrastructure and logistics. Belief-based customs, a single digital clearance window for meals and organic cargo, AI-enabled container scanning at ports, digital cargo monitoring, warehouse digitisation, and elimination of export bottlenecks for small consignments collectively create the spine for sooner and extra predictable motion of products.
Whereas not framed as agricultural measures, these reforms instantly ease the farm-to-market and farm-to-port journey for perishables, fisheries, livestock merchandise, horticulture, and processed meals — areas the place logistics prices and delays have traditionally eroded worth realisation for farmers.
Shweta Saini and Pulkit Khatri are with Arcus Coverage Analysis. The views expressed are private
