Budget 2020: Farm experts pitch for scrapping GST on agri-inputs

Bharat Krishak Samaj demanded that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana should be replaced with a new crop insurance and compensation scheme.

Removing of GST on agri-inputs, revamping crop insurance scheme, considering land lease rental for fixing MSP and banning futures trade in agri-commodities are among the suggestions made by farm experts during their pre-Budget meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

At the meeting on Tuesday, they also pitched for measures to promote organic farming, cut import duty from 30 per cent to zero on live embryo, animal and semen, tweaks in electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) and revisiting Food Security Act.

This is the fourth pre-Budget meeting on agriculture and agro-processing sectors.

Already, consultations with IT/ start-ups, financial sector and industry have been held.

"There should be zero GST on every farm inputs such as fertilisers, seed and agri-equipments," Bharatiya Kisan Sangh's (BKS) Dinesh Kulkarni told reporters after the meeting.

He said there should be no futures trading in agri-commodities as it benefits neither consumers nor farmers.

He also urged the government to increase procurement of various crops at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Bharat Krishak Samaj chairman Ajay Vir Jakkar demanded that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) should be replaced with a new crop insurance and compensation scheme or set up a farmers disaster and distress relief commission.

Further, he called for reduction in GST on processed food and dairy products to 5 per cent.

"We want import duty on live embryo, animal and semen to be reduced to zero.

“The government should also expedite implementation of National Dairy Plan (NDP-II) at the earliest and make a budgetary provision," National Dairy Development Board executive director Arun Raste said.

The NDP-II, which aims to boost productivity in dairy sector, is estimated to cost $1 billion, of which 50 per cent will be borne by the World Bank, 30 per cent by the Centre and remaining 20 per cent by implementing agency NDDB.

Consortium of Indian Farmers' Association (CIFA) secretary general B D Rami Reddy said the government should consider lease rental costs while determining MSP for crops as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.

There are a substantial number of people who do farming on land parcels taken on lease.

Other stakeholders pitched for building brands of Indian agricultural products abroad, accelerating depreciation benefit to agri-processing industry, encouraging development of farm eco-system services and market intelligence systems.

They also recommended development of agro-medicinal forestry, crop diversification, revisiting of Food Security Act, extending subsidy to producers of green manure, bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides besides steps for promoting large scale production of compost by utilisation of urban solid waste.

The farm experts also emphasised the need for expansion of multi-dimensional research in agriculture sector for development of new technologies and further suggested for promoting start-ups at the institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and agriculture universities for young students.

The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur and senior officials from finance, agriculture, consumer affairs, food processing, animal husbandry ministries as well as Niti Aayog.

Representatives from National Cooperative Union of India, South Indian Sugarcane Farmers Association, Kisan Foundation, IFFCO, All India Spices Exporter Forum, NCDEX,  Indian School of Business, Irrigation Association of India, National rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) and NABARD, among others, were present.

Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters