NEW DELHI: The thrust of the Union Budget 2023-24 has shifted to animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries from crop production. The budget of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MFAHD) has increased by around 10 per cent from last year’s budget. Moreover, this allocation steeply increased by around 40 per cent compared to the previous year’s revised estimates.
In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed the MFAHD – a separate ministry – to give a fresh momentum to doubling the farm household income by 2022. It aroused interest among policymakers as livestock and fisheries sub-sectors contribute more significantly to agricultural GDP than crop production. The Centre might miss the target of doubling farmers’ income but not its focus on these two sub-sectors. The budget of these sectors has been consistently increasing over the past three years.
This year’s budget allocation for the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) is Rs 4,327 crore, which is 10 per cent more than last year’s budget and 40 per cent more than the revised estimate of 2022-23. Similarly, the budget allocation of the Department of Fisheries (DoF) is Rs 2,248 crore, which is 9 per cent more than the previous year’s budget and around 40 per cent more than the revised estimate.
In the DAHD budget, the major thrust was on the livestock health and disease control programme and dairy infrastructure development. Under these schemes, the allocation is Rs 2,689 crore, whereas the last year’s budget was Rs 2,315 crore. A new scheme started, ‘Dairying through Cooperatives’, which will help create dairy infrastructure in backward regions of the country in cooperation with the Japan Cooperative Agency which will provide official development assistance (ODA) loan assistance. Meanwhile, experts see this budget as another lost opportunity.
“The government needs to focus on setting up animal health infrastructure in interior areas where poor people have only livestock to support their livelihood,” says Vijay Sardana, an agricultural policy expert.
He also emphasised the need of insurance policies for poultry, piggery, and goat farming.
In DoF, the major thrust is given to reviving the fish processing sector, especially the shrimp sector. This sector has been deeply affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the significant lacunae the experts noticed was that the budget needs to discuss support to open fishing or inland fishing.
“The government should look beyond the shrimp industry to support inland fisheries which are supporting millions of livelihood and source of nutrition,” says Neelkanth Mishra, founder of Centre for Aquatic Livelihood Jaljeevika.
Fish processing sector seriously hit by Covid
In DoF, the major thrust is given to reviving the fish processing sector, especially the shrimp sector. This sector has been deeply affected due to Covid. One of the significant lacunae the experts noticed was that the budget needs to discuss support to open fishing or inland fishing. “The govt should look beyond the shrimp industry to support inland fisheries which are supporting millions of livelihood and source of nutrition,” says Neelkanth Mishra, Centre for Aquatic Livelihood Jaljeevika.