Rythu Swarajya Vedika slams Centre for neglecting agriculture
HYDERABAD: Farmers’ organisation Rythu Swarajya Vedika on Sunday strongly criticised the Union Budget 2026–27, alleging that the Centre has “completely abandoned” agriculture and farmers while speaking of a ‘Viksit Bharat’.
Agri share in Budget drops to 3%
The organisation said the share of agriculture and allied sectors in the Union Budget has fallen steadily from 5.4% in 2019–20 to just 3.04% in 2026–27, reflecting the government’s declining priority for the sector.
Although the overall Union Budget has increased from ₹50.6 lakh crore in 2025–26 to ₹53.4 lakh crore in 2026–27, allocations for agriculture and allied sectors have been cut from ₹1.7 lakh crore to ₹1.6 lakh crore a reduction of ₹9,000 crore.
It also pointed out that even allocated funds are not fully utilised. Against the Budget Estimate of ₹1.7 lakh crore for agriculture in 2025–26, the Revised Estimate shows an expenditure of only ₹1.5 lakh crore, indicating a cut of nearly ₹20,000 crore, or about 12%. The actual share of agriculture spending could therefore fall below 3%, it said.
Schemes dropped, farmers ‘clubbed with disabled’
Rythu Swarajya Vedika said several agriculture schemes announced in earlier budgets have not been implemented. Missions such as the Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission for pulses and the Vegetable and Fruit Mission, which were allocated between ₹500 crore and ₹1,000 crore last year, have been given zero allocation in the revised estimates, effectively discontinuing them.
The organisation also objected to the Finance Minister’s budget speech, alleging that farmers were grouped with the disabled and those with mental health issues under the ‘Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas’ framework, instead of being recognised as drivers of economic growth.
It noted that when the Finance Minister outlined six priority sectors for boosting productivity and competitiveness, agriculture was not included.
Rural employment, insurance funds cut
The budget speech made no mention of agricultural labourers, the organisation said. While ₹95,692 crore has been allocated for the rural employment programme after changes to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, states are required to contribute 40%, which could reduce actual spending and guaranteed workdays.
Funds for crop insurance under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana have been reduced by 15.7% to ₹12,200 crore, despite crop losses affecting 9.47 million hectares in the first nine months of 2025, it said.
Water, nutrition schemes see decline
The group said the budget ignored key issues such as groundwater depletion and soil degradation. Allocations for Atal Bhujal Yojana have been almost eliminated, while funding for micro-irrigation schemes like Per Drop More Crop has been cut by 13.6%.
Nutrition programmes such as Integrated Child Development Services and PM Poshan have also seen a significant decline in allocations, it added.
Rythu Swarajya Vedika called upon farmers in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to “recognise the realities” of the BJP led government’s policies and mobilise for their rights.
