Budget 2026 Indian agriculture is being framed by industry leaders as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to move the sector from a welfare mindset to a technology-driven engine of economic growth.
Ahead of the FY27 Budget, experts from agribusiness, consulting firms and dairy companies are urging policymakers to step up investments in digital infrastructure, climate-resilient irrigation systems and modern technologies that can help close the productivity gap in a sector that employs nearly half of India’s workforce but contributes less than one-fifth to national output.
Amit Vatsyayan, leader for agriculture, livelihood and social sectors at EY India, said agriculture is increasingly being seen as a credible growth driver rather than just a support system for the rural poor. He noted that about 45% of India’s workforce is still dependent on farming, yet the sector contributes only around 18% to gross value added. According to him, the FY27 Budget is the moment to realign public spending toward productivity, employment generation and climate resilience.
The dairy sector is among the loudest voices in this debate. Brahmani Nara, executive director at Heritage Foods, pointed to the September 2025 GST rationalisation, which she said has accelerated consumer demand for high-protein and health-focused dairy products such as paneer, cheese, ghee and butter. She added that schemes like the Rashtriya Gokul Mission and the National Digital Livestock Mission have already integrated more than 300,000 farmers into the organised ecosystem, proving that policy-driven change can scale rapidly.
However, Nara argued that Budget 2026 Indian agriculture must go further. She outlined three priorities: subsidised access to quality animal feed and chromosome-sorted semen to lift milk yields; expansion of veterinary education capacity to bridge the gap between the current 68,000 registered veterinarians and the estimated need of 110,000 to 120,000; and enhanced capital subsidies for mini-dairy units, especially those run by women entrepreneurs.
Climate-resilient infrastructure is another area where industry leaders expect stronger fiscal backing. Vatsyayan said investments in micro-irrigation, watershed management, aquifer recharge and renewable-powered farm assets could future-proof Indian agriculture against rising climate risks. In his view, these interventions also act as powerful economic multipliers by stabilising farm incomes, stimulating rural demand and improving food security.
He also called for deeper public-private partnerships in storage, logistics and agri-research to cut India’s persistently high post-harvest losses. Drawing on international experience, he suggested adapting Japan’s farmer school model into cluster-based farmer schools anchored in Farmer Producer Organisations and Krishi Vigyan Kendras, creating faster channels for technology diffusion at the grassroots.
Digital infrastructure sits at the core of these expectations. Swapnil Jadhav, founder and chief executive of MapMyCrop, said precision agriculture at scale will only be possible if the government invests heavily in rural connectivity, data systems and credit linkages. He stressed that agri-drones, IoT sensors and AI-driven analytics have the potential to raise yields, optimise fertiliser and water use, and strengthen climate resilience across 140 million farm holdings.
Jadhav urged targeted subsidies, stronger PPP frameworks and R&D tax incentives to accelerate the integration of these tools with national platforms such as AGMARK-NET and e-NAM. According to him, Budget 2026 Indian agriculture must help the sector pivot away from input-heavy subsidies toward a tech-powered ecosystem that rewards efficiency and innovation.
Structural reform, however, remains unavoidable. Soumyak Biswas, partner for agriculture at BDO India, said fragmented landholdings, limited investment in allied sectors, high post-harvest losses and chronically underfunded research continue to drag the sector down. He called for higher funding for the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, stronger market-linked support for FPOs and incentives to diversify into horticulture, pulses and oilseeds to reduce dependence on water-intensive crops.
Across all these recommendations, one platform keeps resurfacing: AGRISTACK. Vatsyayan described its effective roll-out as the digital backbone of the next phase of India’s farm transformation. By integrating farmer identities, land records, credit, insurance, extension services and market platforms, AGRISTACK could enable precision targeting of subsidies, reduce transaction costs and crowd in private investment.
As the Union Budget approaches, the message from industry is clear. Budget 2026 Indian agriculture must not be about incremental tweaks. It must be about building the digital, climate-ready and productivity-driven foundation that can sustain millions of farmers in a rapidly changing world.
Written for eDairyNews, with information from: abpLIVE
