New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- The budget 2026-27 allocated funds to allied farm sectors such as high-value crops, livestock, and fisheries to promote crop diversification and improve farm incomes. Yet, these were paltry outlays. There was little for farmers battling a crash in crop prices and incomes, and funds for agri research were slashed amid growing climate risks and a productive crisis.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new Rs.350-crore scheme to promote high-value plantation crops, including coconut, cocoa, cashew and tree nuts. The budget also proposed a Rs.150 crore Bharat Vistaar scheme, which will use a multilingual artificial intelligence (AI) tool for crop advisories.

"To diversify farm outputs, increase productivity, ...