Farmers seek cheaper credit, lower taxes, doubling PM-KISAN amount in pre-budget meet with FM

New Delhi: Farmer representatives and agricultural stakeholders urged the government to provide cheaper long-term credit, implement lower taxes, and double the PM-KISAN income support during a comprehensive pre-budget consultation with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday.

The two-hour meeting saw a detailed discussion of proposals, aimed at addressing multiple challenges in the agricultural sector, with key demands focusing on financial relief, market reforms, and strategic investments.

Bharat Krishak Samaj Chairman Ajay Vir Jakhar emphasised the need for targeted interventions to boost agricultural productivity and farmer welfare.

Primary demands included reducing interest rates on agricultural loans to as low as 1 per cent and increasing the annual PM-KISAN instalment from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000. Farmers' bodies also strongly advocated for zero-premium crop insurance for small farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

Taxation reforms were a critical component of the proposals, with stakeholders calling for GST exemptions on agricultural machinery, fertilisers, seeds, and medicines. PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry requested a reduction of pesticide GST from 18 per cent to 5 per cent.

Jakhar proposed a targeted investment strategy of Rs 1,000 crore annually for eight years, focusing on specific crops like chickpeas, soybean, and mustard to enhance national agricultural productivity.

This approach aims to strategically enhance crop yields, reduce import dependence, and improve national nutritional security, he told PTI after the meeting.

Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Speaker Dharmendra Malik demanded a comprehensive review of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism, seeking calculations that include land rent, farm wages, and post-harvest expenses.

He also demanded the display of agricultural machinery prices on company websites, improvement in mandi infrastructure, widening MSP coverage beyond 23 commodities, disallowing imports below MSP levels and fixing minimum export prices only in emergencies.

PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry Chairman (Agribusiness committee) RG Agarwal called for a reduction in GST on pesticides from 18 per cent to five per cent, while highlighting the need to curb the sale of smuggled and fake pesticides while ensuring data protection for new molecular developments.

More ambitious proposals included constitutional reforms, such as adding agriculture to the Concurrent List and establishing a central Indian Agricultural Service.

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and senior officials from finance and agriculture ministries attended the meeting, which included representatives from farmer producer companies, agricultural associations, and corporate sectors.