Industry leaders have hailed the Union Budget as a “visionary step” for pushing Indian agriculture towards achieving efficiency and technology-driven goals. Farmer groups, however, are not impressed with the government’s sole thrust on production and not crop and seed health.Talking to The Tribune, Bharat Madan, Director & CFO, Escorts Kubota, said, “The Union Budget for FY2026–27 continues the government’s reform-led focus on improving farm incomes. The emphasis on high-value crops like cashew and initiatives such as Bharat-VISTAAR reflects a push towards more efficient, technology-led farming. It is a visionary budget.”“The increase in capital expenditure to Rs 12.2 lakh crore and the sustained focus on infrastructure are also welcome and support construction activity and equipment demand across roads, logistics and urban developmen,” Madan added.CropLife India, the leading association of 17 R&D-driven crop science companies, said the initiatives will translate into consistent farm-level outcomes only if they are supported by stronger on-ground extension systems and sustained investment in crop science research to help farmers manage climate stress, rising pest pressure and resistance.“Bharat-VISTAAR has the potential to significantly improve how scientific knowledge reaches farmers. However, digital advisory delivers results only when it is backed by effective on-ground extension systems that ensure guidance reaches farmers in time and is applied correctly,” Ankur Aggarwal, chairman, CropLife India said.For farmers, artificial intelligence can unlock an enormous amount of information that can help them to make smarter choices for their crops, and protect the fields they grow on.Farm leaders, however, refused to buy the argument as they claim that no farmer’s income had increased with bringing in AI or other such digital models in the country.“The ruling dispensation continues to render farming as ‘non-workable’ in the country. Adoption of AI can never result in increased farmer income. It is an impractical proposition due to the fact that a majority of Indian farmers are unlettered and digitally-illiterate. The government should focus on the current mechanisms for delivering,” agriculture policy analyst Devinder Sharma said.Another industry expert talked about the relevance of the Budget for global trade. “Farmers today operate in a far more complex risk environment. Climate variability is increasing uncertainty, while resistance is affecting the performance of older solutions,” said Pradeep Krishnan from CropLife.Meanwhile, CropLife India urged the government to consider providing a 200 percent weighted deduction on R&D expenditure, reducing GST on agrochemicals from 18 percent to 5 percent, and retaining a stable and uniform basic customs duty of 10 percent for raw materials and formulations.Economist Akash Chopra said equally important is a coordinated national push to strengthen agricultural extension services, backed by enabling frameworks to scale good agricultural practices, improve residue management and enhance farmer safety.