The Budget takeaways include improving capital accessibility, driving digital transformation, providing better market access, and helping build farmer resilience
The key priorities for the Budget 2023 are inclusive development, last-mile connectivity, infrastructure development, green growth, harnessing the potential of the youth, and optimizing the available financial resources. As a nation, our estimated growth rate has been 7 per cent. From an agriculture perspective, the key announcements that are set to boost growth, improve capital accessibility, drive digital transformation, provide better market access, and help build farmer resilience, include:
1. Increase in government spending: The Union Budget 2023 has proposed increasing government spending on the agritech industry. This will help ensure that the sector receives the necessary funds to invest in research, development, and technology.
2. Tax incentives: The Budget has proposed various tax incentives for the agritech industry. This will help the industry in terms of tax deductions and exemptions, ultimately reducing the operation cost and increasing profitability.
3. Investment in R&D: The Budget has proposed increased investments in research and development for the agritech industry. This will help the industry to innovate and develop new products and services, thus helping them stay competitive in the global market.
4. Support for startups: The Budget has proposed various support measures for startups in the agritech industry. This will help startups access funds, resources, and mentorship, which will help them become successful and gain a footing in the industry.
5. Digitalisation of agriculture records: Making the digital infrastructure for the public agri sector will help consolidate learnings about soil, pests, and diseases and improve the AI models bringing predictability to agriculture, helping mitigate yield losses, and improving farm productivity, acreage, and quality of produce.
6. Agriculture Accelerator Fund: A welcome move is the announcement of an Agriculture Accelerator Fund to catalyze rural and agri-entrepreneurship across India, which will help drive technological innovation, agriculture profitability, and scale employment creation.
Overall, the agritech industry is set to benefit significantly from the Budget announcement. The government has increased funding for this sector. This could ensure that the segment continues to grow and develop while also supporting farmers at the heart of the agricultural industry. The Budget also includes incentives for using technology in the sector, which could increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve production quality. Finally, the Budget also provides measures to promote sustainable agritech solutions, which could help reduce environmental impact and improve the sector's sustainability. The Budget could be a significant boost to the agritech industry.
(Dhruv Sawhney, Business Head and COO, nurture.farm)