01 February 2022, New Delhi: As a part of the agri-tech industry, I firmly believe that the budget should not only focus on economic but also enable sustainable development to secure future generations, says Mr. Dhruv Sawhney, Business Head and COO, nurture.farm.
Mr. Dhruv Sawhney, Business Head and COO, nurture.farm
Putting climate action as one of the focus areas of the budget is a mega move from the government. The AgTech sector plays an important role in educating farmers on sustainable modes of agriculture, scaling the operations, and reducing the carbon footprint that are an outcome of the agricultural practices.
The announcement towards launch of sovereign green bonds for projects signals India’s strong commitment towards a low carbon economy, mentioned Mr. Sawhney. It will help to bring down the cost of capital for green projects by attracting new investors and mobilising private capital towards sustainable development. This will further boost our efforts to make agriculture sustainable by helping farmers earn more through adopting sustainable agricultural practices.
Another key point is the adoption of technology-enabled models of agriculture. The need of the hour is to make the sector more efficient, sustainable, profitable, and the farmers more resilient. Revision of agriculture syllabus to include modern agricultural methods; use of Kisan drones for crop assessment, digitisation of land records and spraying of insect pesticides; boosting financial inclusion of farmers through digital modes of payments – all these steps taken by the government will go a long way in agriculture sector achieving its maximum potential while encouraging Indian AgTech startups to strengthen the agri ecosystem from the grassroots level.
