Budget 2018: Govt likely to increase agri-research allocation by up to 15%

The government is likely to increase the budget allocation for farm education, research and extension by up to 15 per cent to around Rs 80 billion (Rs 8,000 crore) in 2018-19 fiscal as the focus will on making rapid strides in doubling farmers' income, sources said.

The Union Budget 2018 will be presented on February 1.

"There has been a minimum 10 per cent annual increase in the budget allocation for agri-education, research and extension purpose in last few years. We hope 15 per cent higher budget allocation would be made available for the DARE (Department of Agricultural Research and Education) for the next financial year," the sources said.

The funds will be used on priority areas with an aim to address the country's key farm sector problem and make rapid strides in the direction of doubling farmers' income through the use of technology and innovation, the sources added.

In the next fiscal, the DARE is planning to focus on using technology and agri-innovations in particularly 150 backward districts and build capacity of farmers in tribal areas.

It is also considering initiating programmes on use of sensors in agriculture, build and transfer post-harvest technology, use of animal cloning for commercial application, genome editing in select crops and bio-fortification.