On Saturday, Tamil Nadu will become the third state after Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to present a separate agricultural Budget. And though experts believe this is just a political move, data available from Andhra Pradesh indicates that it could actually boost the sector.

       The tradition of having an exclusive Budget for agriculture was started by Karnataka in 2011-12, and was followed by the undivided Andhra Pradesh state in 2013-14. Both aimed to give greater focus to the sector. Though states like Telangana, Rajasthan, and Bihar, too, had similar plans, these did not take off because ...