Agribusiness Leaders Call for Dynamic Reforms Ahead of India's Union Budget 2025-26

Agribusiness leaders urge the Indian government to introduce modernization incentives and policy interventions to boost the sector's growth ahead of the Union Budget 2025-26. Key areas include energy-efficient machinery, ethanol production, tax breaks, subsidies, enhanced food processing, and cold storage improvements to propel the agricultural economy and sustainability.

As anticipation for the Union Budget 2025-26 builds, voices from the agriculture processing and allied industries echo demands for significant reforms aimed at modernizing operations and underpinning sustainable sector growth. The industry calls for policy measures in support of these initiatives.

Vasu Naren, Chairman of Sona Machinery, is driving the conversation around modernizing the rice milling sector. He advocates for subsidies and tax breaks for energy-efficient and automated machinery to foster productivity and minimize waste, with a vision to align the sector with India's ethanol goals by utilizing rice husk by-products.

In tandem, Megha Pavan, CEO of Arkaa Cluster Private Limited, pushes for bolstered budget allocations focused on the food processing and nutraceutical sectors, emphasizing the necessity for tax incentives, expanded farmer subsidies, and investment in cutting-edge processing technology to position India as a leader in sustainable agriculture.

Meanwhile, Akshat Gupta of Praxis Global Alliance presses the government to address infrastructural gaps in cold storage and supply chains, proposing increased financial support for small farmers, standardizing agricultural loan interests, and enhancing farmer training schemes to bolster the agricultural economy.

These industry voices collectively urge dynamic policy support to forward the digitalization of agriculture and infrastructure reforms to not only uplift farmer profitability but to also ensure a sustainable future for the sector.

(With inputs from agencies.)