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The allocation of money to agricultural education and research has been reduced in the Union Budget 2022-23 tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha February 1, 2022.
A provision of Rs 8,513.62 crore has been made for the department of agricultural research and education under the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare in the budget.
A similar amount was also allocated in the revised estimate for 2021-22. Hence the net increase is zero.
The largest share in this estimated amount is to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). A provision of Rs 5,877.06 crore has been made for ICAR against Rs 5,561.48 crore in 2021-22.
So the net increase is Rs 315.58 crore. The item includes salary, pension, administrative and logistical expenses.
The revised estimate for 2021-22 at central agricultural universities was Rs 562.95 crore. That has been increased to Rs 599.45 crore. This includes expenditure on regional education, research and extension, etc.
Apart from this, the expenditure on agricultural education, animal science, crop science and management of natural resources has been reduced.
A provision of Rs 719.28 crore has been made for crop science in 2022-23, while the revised estimate for 2021-22 was Rs 840 crore. This year’s budget estimate was Rs 968 crore.
The actual expenditure of last year (2020-21) was Rs 805.37 crore. That is, the budget for crop science has been cut by 14.35 per cent.
A provision of Rs 455.48 crore has been made for agricultural education in the general budget. The revised estimate of 2021-22 was Rs 553 crore and the actual expenditure for 2020-21 was Rs 526.14 crore.
A provision of Rs 343.30 crore has been made in the next financial year for animal science. The revised estimate for 2021-22 was Rs 400 crore and the actual expenditure for 2020-21 was Rs 400.19 crore.
The expenditure on the management of natural resources has been estimated at Rs 185.77 crore. The revised estimate for 2021-22 was Rs 215 crore and the actual expenditure for 2020-21 was Rs 220.26 crore. So the net reduction has been about 17 per cent.
The report of the parliamentary committee on agriculture, animal husbandry and food processing had also expressed displeasure in the last winter session of Parliament about the continuous shortfall in the budget for agricultural education and research.