The Union Budget 2023 mentioned the Aatmanirbhar clean plant program that would contribute to disease-free planting material. The Union Budget made a structure for the Aatmnirbhar agriculture sector that would be driven by the latest technology and financially inclusive. The launch of the Agri Accelerator Fund will help in improving the industry’s supply chain inefficiencies and will take a step towards its full potential. It also aligns with the government’s focus on startups.
The aim of this program is to encourage young agripreneurs so they can solve challenges and limitations in the agri-supply chain.
This may help in making the agriculture sector an exciting sector for provisioning technology-enabled services across the whole value chain, including storage.
As announced in this budget, the decentralized storage capacity would increase the farmers income by acting as a catalyst and halting post-harvest losses when combined with Operation Greens, the 10,000 FPO program, and eNWR (Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipts).
In recent years, horticulture has received more attention. However, due to the scarcity of planting material, the industry has been restricted. The Aatmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme will not only increase the disease-free planting material but also lower the crop cost and increase plant production. The productivity reach could be up to 50%, as per some estimations.
The goal of this decision is to enhance farmers’ income and increase horticulture production. The drive is to develop 10,000 bio-input resource centers, which would help to enhance soil quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the livestock sector, and also enhance consumer health.
It is stated in the previous budget that the commitment to other farmer-centric programs, including the creation of 10,000 farmer-producer organizations (FPOs) and other central sectors, will continue in this budget as well.
Regarding value addition, there is an increase of Rs. 250 crore for PMKSY, a rise of more than Rs. 700 crore for PLI, and Rs. 300 crore for PMFME.