Public RelationsGrant more for allied sectors of agriculture: House panel
Recommending higher allocation for animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries, a House panel has wondered as to why the sector got only 7.7 per cent of the allocated funds of the Agriculture Ministry last fiscal, even though it accounted for 31 per cent of the total farm output.
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"The animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries sector contributes over 31 per cent to the output of agriculture and contributes more than 5 per cent to the GDP. But the allocation for this department in the overall allocation of the Ministry of Agriculture is 7.7 per cent of the total outlay (in 2008-09)," the Parliamentary Standing Committee has said in a report.
The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries (DAHD&F) was granted Rs 940 crore in the revised estimate of the last fiscal.
The situation has not improved this fiscal as well. Out of the Plan outlay of Rs 14,167.07 crore for the three departments of the Agriculture Ministry in 2009-10, the share of the DAHD&F was pegged at a meagre 7.76 per cent at Rs 1,100 crore.
On the other hand, the Department of Agriculture and Co-operation has been allocated Rs 11,307.07 crore for this fiscal and the Department of Agricultural Research and Education has been granted Rs 1,760 crore.