A farmer cultivates her farm in western India in this 2014 file photo by ucanews.com.
Caritas India has welcomed the federal government prioritizing farmers' welfare, saying that proper attention to rural communities was long overdue.
The Indian government in its annual budget for 2016-17 allocated 350 billion rupees (about US$5.2 million) for the betterment of the agriculture and the farming community
Federal finance minister Arun Jaitley told parliament on Feb. 29 that the government proposed to bring nearly 1.22 hectares of land under irrigation and also allocate 600 billion rupees for renewing ground water.
The budget also plans to bring 200,000 hectares of land under organic farming over a period of three years.
"It is a recognition by the government that ultimately it is the farm that feeds the people, industries and generates livelihood for the poor," said Father Frederick D'Souza, executive director of Caritas India, the Catholic Church's social service agency.
The government's move is in "the right direction and this attention to the farming sector was long over due," he told ucanews.com.
The government's concern for the farming community has come after a very long time, and at a time when Indian farmers are struggling with droughts, floods and unseasonal rains.
Government statistics show that 6,000 farmers committed suicides because of financial difficulties and weather-related crop losses.
India has a population of 1.3 billion and about two-fifths of its families rely on farming.
Hence the regeneration of agriculture is a need at this point of time, said Father D'Souza.
However, he expressed concern as the government's proposal "lacks application in terms of strategy and planning."
Father V. J. Thomas, director of Jhansi Diocese's social service ministry, told ucanews.com that if the government were to implement its plans properly, the farming community was sure to benefit.
"It is to be seen how the government executes it and if it reaches to the farmers even in the remotest areas," he added.