TN's first agri budget focuses on farmer's income

Chennai, Aug 14 Encouraging agriculture graduates to turn into entrepreneurs, farmers to produce millets/pulses/oilseeds, converting fallow lands into cultivable ones, focus on organic farming, are some of the major points of the Tamil Nadu's first agriculture budget.

The budget was presented by Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare M.R.K. Panneerselvam in the assembly on Saturday.

According to Panneerselvam, a total of Rs 34,220.65 crore has been allocated for the agriculture and allied sectors for the year 2021-22.

He dedicated the budget to the farmers protesting in Delhi against the three farms laws of the central government.

The Minister also announced the procurement price of paddy Grade-A varieties at Rs 2,060/- per quintal and common varieties at Rs 2,015/- per quintal.

About six lakh farmers will be benefited and the government will be incurring an additional expenditure of Rs 99.38 crore.

The DMK government headed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had announced that a separate budget for agriculture will be presented by the government.

"There are more challenges viz, decrease in crop area due to conversion of agricultural lands into real estate, depletion in soil nutrition, declining of water resources due to over-exploitation; reluctance among youngsters to take up farming, deprivation of remunerative price for agricultural produce, enhanced cost of cultivation, post-harvest loss, etc. Farmers are facing these challenges in agriculture like Atlas," he said.

Panneerselvam said during the current fiscal the cultivable land will be increased by creating water sources in about 2,500 villages so as to increase the farmer's income. A total sum of Rs 1,245.45 crore has been allocated for the scheme.

He said Stalin has given three targets - a) to bring in additional 11.75 hectares for cultivation (b) an area of 10 lakh hectare cropped area to be doubled in 10 years and (c) Tamil Nadu to be brought within the first three positions in the country in agricultural productivity in crops like foodgrains and commercial crops such as coconut, cotton, sunflower, and sugarcane.

The government plans to convert 11.75 hectares of fallow land into cultivable land over the next ten years and the crops like millets, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits will be grown to increase the net sown area to 75 per cent, Panneerselvam said.

A cluster of 100 hectare of rainfed lands will be identified wherein summer ploughing, rainwater harvesting systems such as farm ponds and contour bunding will be created, bio-fertilizers and quality seeds of nutri-cereals, pulses and oilseeds will be distributed at subsidised rates.

The farmers who adopt organic farming will be encouraged with provision of inputs subsidy. The noble project of "Organic Farming Development Scheme" will be implemented during the current year.

According to Panneerselvam, traditional paddy variety seeds will be multiplied in 200 acres in State Seed Farms to distribute them to the farmers.

He also said the government will focus on making agricultural graduates into entrepreneurs and also make efforts to nurture the impression that agriculture is a noble profession so that educated youth take farming to the next level.

With the demand for millets increasing, Panneerselvam said a Millet Mission will be implemented to increase its production.

Value addition in minor millets will be encouraged to ensure remunerative price to farmers. Minor Millet rice will be procured by Co-operative societies and distributed through Public Distribution System in Cities like Chennai and Coimbatore, he added.

The other highlights are:

*Use of satellite data on cropping for implementation of crop insurance

*Developing Tiruchirapalli - Nagapattinam as Agro Industrial Corridor

*Cultivation of long staple cotton in 25,000 hectare adopting integrated methodologies

*Intensive coconut cultivation

*Integrated Farming System will be implemented during 2021-2022 to benefit 13,300 farm families.

*Establishment of an Agriculture Museum at State Level in Chennai to showcase the glory of agriculture to the younger generation

*Conversion of Uzhavar Sandhai/farmer's market waste into manure

*Establishment of Modern Cold Storages

*Farm to Home- Sale of Farm fresh vegetables and fruits through Mobile Shops

*Establishment of pepper processing centre at Kolli hills, Namakkal District

*Special Export Zone for Moringa to be set up

*Getting geographical indication tage for Unique crops of Tamil Nadu

*Setting up of turmeric research centre in Erode District

*Nammazhvar Organic Farming Research Centre

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