Budget FY27: Agri sector pitches for tech push, climate-smart infrastructure

Key Highlights

• Dairy sector seeks support Heritage Foods Ltd Executive Director Brahmani Nara pointed to favourable conditions created by the September 2025 GST rationalisation, which has accelerated consumer preference for high-protein, health-focused products like paneer, cheese, ghee, and butter in the organised dairy segment.
• With government initiatives like the Rashtriya Gokul Mission and National Digital Livestock Mission integrating over 3,00,000 farmers into the organised ecosystem, Nara outlined three key Budget asks: subsidised access to quality feed and chromosome-sorted semen to boost animal productivity; expanding veterinary college capacity to bridge the gap between India’s 68,000 registered veterinarians and the requirement of 110,000-120,000; and increased capital subsidies for mini-dairy units, particularly for women entrepreneurs.
• Green infrastructure, tech adoption key Vatsyayan emphasised the need for scaling green infrastructure and climate-resilient irrigation through investments in micro-irrigation, watershed management, aquifer recharge and renewable-powered agri assets.
• “From a growth lens, these interventions also act as strong multipliers — stimulating rural demand, stabilising farm incomes and strengthening food security,” he said in a statement.
• He also called for expanding public-private partnerships in storage, logistics and agri R&D to reduce post-harvest losses, and focused investments in seed systems to achieve self-reliance in pulses and other nutrition-sensitive commodities.