Budget ignores foodgrain farmers, focuses on high-value crops, innovation

The Union Budget 2026-27 projects an image of transformation in agriculture, but a closer reading suggests that the government’s priorities are steadily moving away from the farmers who grow the country’s staple foodgrain. While the Finance Minister devoted considerable attention to “high-value agriculture”, livestock, fisheries and niche crops, the concerns of the vast majority of cultivators found little space.

New initiatives announced in the budget focus on coconut, cocoa, cashew, nuts from hilly regions, makhana, natural fibres and hybrid seeds. Technology-driven interventions such as the Bharat-VISTAAR AI platform and schemes aimed at value addition and market integration dominate the narrative. However, farmers dependent on wheat, paddy, pulses and other foodgrain—who constitute the bulk of India’s agricultural workforce—remain largely invisible in these announcements.

Crucially, the budget is silent on the long-standing demand for a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP), a demand that has been at the centre of farmers’ movements across the country for years. The absence of even a token reference signals that the government is unwilling to address income security for small and marginal farmers who rely on assured procurement to survive volatile markets.

The shift is also evident in what has been dropped. Millets, once aggressively promoted as “Shree Anna” and showcased as a climate-resilient crop, received no significant mention this year. For farmers who responded to earlier policy signals and diversified to millets, the silence is telling.

Budgetary allocations reinforce this concern. Spending on agriculture and allied activities has increased by only 2.41% over last year’s Budget estimates, at a time when the government is projecting overall economic growth of over 7%. In real terms, agriculture is being asked to do more with far less.

Farmer leader Dr. Sunilam summed up the growing disillusionment, saying, “The government has forgotten its promise of doubling farmers’ income. In fact, farmers are now getting half of the earlier income.” The budget, heavy on innovation and light on income assurance, appears to confirm that fear.