Budget 2021: Nirmala Sitharaman on boosting agriculture sector, says govt committed to welfare of farmers

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting the Union Budget 2021-2022, proposed an increase in agriculture credit target to Rs 16.5 lakh crore and said the government is committed to the welfare of farmers.

"Our Govt is committed to the welfare of farmers. The MSP regime has undergone a change to assure price that is at least 1.5 times the cost of production across all commodities," Sitharaman said.

"Procurement has also continued to increase at a steady pace. This has resulted in increase in payment to farmers substantially. In case of wheat, total payment paid to farmers in 2013-14 was Rs Rs 33,874 cr. In 2019-20 it was Rs 62,802 crore. In 2020-21, it was Rs 75,060 crores," Sitharaman said.