The Union Budget had once again failed to adequately address the concerns of farmers with agriculture receiving barely 3% of the total allocation while Defence expenditure, including pension, account for 14.6%, the Federation of Cauvery Delta Farmers Associations has said.
Reacting to the Budget, federation’s general secretary Arupathy P. Kalyanam said that farmers’ organisations had, for several years, been demanding enhanced schemes and greater fund allocations for agriculture, on a par with the Defence sector.
The federation reiterated its long-standing demand that the farm Budget be progressively increased to match the Defence spending over a five-year period. It called for making all farm loans available at 4% interest, and for interest-free crop loans up to ₹3 lakh to ease farmers’ financial burden.
Criticising the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Mr. Kalyanam urged the Centre to revamp the scheme and introduce an incentive-linked version assuring a minimum base claim of 20% — with equal contributions from the Union and State governments — to all enrolled farmers.
Citing PMFBY data, he alleged that insurance companies had cornered nearly ₹70,000 crore while farmers continued to face delays and inadequate compensation for crop losses.
Published – February 02, 2026 08:37 pm IST
