Karnataka’s agri sector clocks a robust growth of 9.1%, up from previous years

Karnataka’s agriculture sector has registered a robust growth rate of 9.1% in 2025-26, bolstered by a conducive environment, including good monsoon. The rate stood at 4% in 2024-25 and was in the negative (- 4.9%) in 2023-24. The subsequent good monsoon seasons marked by rich harvests have contributed to a healthy growth rate of the sector.

However, agricultural experts insist that this healthy growth rate would not mean much to farmers unless there are schemes to ensure they become beneficiaries of it.

“The need of the hour is to take measures to ensure that the benefits of growth reach farmers,” said noted agricultural economist Dr. T.N. Prakash Kammaradi. “It can happen only when there is a system for ensuring assured prices to their crops and proper market linkages. This can be done only through positive interventions at the post-production stage,” he observed.

Interest-free loans

The State Budget has set a target of disbursing interest-free agricultural loans to the tune of ₹30,000 crore to 38 lakh farmers.

The government has disbursed interest-free loans to the tune of ₹22,000 crore to 25 lakh farmers till February 2026, as against the target of disbursing ₹28,000 crore loan to 37 lakh farmers in 2025-26.

Eco-friendly practices

The State Budget has announced a few schemes to support eco-friendly agricultural practices, along with measures to strengthen the initiatives to back cultivation of millets.

The Budget has proposed the Vasudhamruta programme to promote eco-friendly and sustainable agricultural practices by enhancing the organic carbon content of soil along with its physical, chemical, and biological properties. The programme will be implemented over the next three years.

Similarly, the Sasya Sanjeevini scheme has been announced to identify pests and diseases at an early stage and to provide timely advise to farmers on control measures such as the use of eco-friendly bio-control agents and bio-pesticides, along with other safer control measures.

The Budget has proposed to strengthen the Millet Hub, which is being established to promote millets and organic produce in the State. The hub, which had been announced in the previous Budget, will now be developed into a self-sustaining institution. It will function as a single-window system to provide technical assistance, processing facilities, etc.

The Agriculture Department’s Raitha Kare Kendra (Farmer Call Centre) is set to be upgraded using AI technology to provide farmers quick access to reliable information on weather, markets etc.

In a bid to prevent excess use of water in paddy cultivation, the Budget has proposed to promote Alternate Wetting and Drying method of irrigation to increase water use efficiency in paddy cultivation.

To fight the menace of spurious farm inputs, the budget has announced constitution of a state-level advisory committee to recommend measures to fight the supply of spurious, unsafe, or defective seeds and pesticides to farmers, and to curb the sale of agricultural inputs at prices exceeding market rates.

The Budget has announced that high-value farms, post-harvest technologies, and horticulture-based industries will be established in farms and nurseries of the Horticulture Department under Public-Private Partnership to attract investment and to promote value-addition in the horticulture sector.