For the first time in the history of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, a special budget for agriculture was presented by Tamil Nadu Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister MRK Panneerselvam today.
The minister began the presentation by dedicating the budget to the farmers who are protesting against the agricultural laws in New Delhi. He said that the DMK government would not take any dictatorial steps and hence the draft budget was prepared after several discussions with farmers, representatives of farmers’ unions of 18 districts as per the directions of Chief Minister MK Stalin.
The Stalin-led government in its maiden budget has allocated Rs 34,220.65 crore for agriculture and allied sectors including horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, revenue, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, agricultural engineering, rural development and panchayat raj. In the last budget, the then ruling AIADMK government had allocated Rs 11,894.48 for these areas.
The government is planning to implement a project named ‘Anaithu Village Orugintha Velan Valarchi Thittam of Kalaignar’ over a period of next five years to ensure all villages in Tamil Nadu achieve holistic agricultural development and self-reliance.
As per the budget, there are 12,524 gram panchayats in the state and each year the scheme will be implemented in one-fifth of the gram panchayats. This scheme is set to be implemented in 2500 gram panchayats this year. The state government has allocated Rs 250 crore for the scheme.
The minister further said that the government would convert 11.75 lakh hectares of fallow land into agricultural land in the next 10 years, which would increase the cultivated area by 60 to 75 percent.
He said that the two cropped area which is now one lakh hectares would be increased to 20 lakh hectares in the next ten years by creating new water resources, developing micro irrigation clusters and cultivating short duration millets, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and greens.
The government has also allocated Rs 4508.23 crore to Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to provide free electricity for agriculture.
Also Rs 573.24 crore has been allocated to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.
The government is planning to provide half a lakh farmers with a kit of farm equipment, which includes shovels, weeders, iron utensils, crowbars and sickles, which are required for carrying out daily agricultural activities. The scheme will be implemented with an outlay of Rs 15 crore.
A separate wing will be created for organic farming under the Agriculture Department. Farmers adopting organic farming system will be encouraged with the provisions of subsidy. As inputs are essential for organic farming, the government said that arrangements would be made to make them available at Krishi Extension Kendras.
The minister also said that Agriculture sector will prosper at a fast pace When youth become job providers instead of jobs For this seeker During this, the students will be given capacity building training. Graduates with the help of agri-business firms and alumni. The scheme will be implemented at a cost of Rs 2.68 crore.
The scheme of ‘Gramin Yuva Krishi Kaushal Vikas Mission’ will be launched to motivate the educated youth to take agriculture to the next level in their native places. In the first phase this year 2500 youth will be given skill training in the areas of grafting, layering, horticulture machinery operation etc. at an estimated cost of Rs.5 crore.
To protect and increase the number of existing palm trees, the government will distribute 76 lakh palm seeds and one lakh palm saplings to farmers in 30 districts with full subsidy. 3 crore has been allocated for this scheme.
The government said that in unavoidable circumstances, permission from the district collector would be made mandatory for cutting palm trees. Along with this, measures will be taken to sell palm and jaggery at PDS shops.
An integrated farming system will be implemented during this year to benefit 13,300 farmer families of the state. 59.85 crore which will be met from central and state government funds.
Agriculture Zonal Committees will be formed to protect the farmers from natural calamities. The committee, made up of officials from various agriculture departments and environmental experts, is expected to give appropriate advice to protect the livelihood and welfare of farmers in their agro-climatic zones.
A separate museum for agriculture to be set up in Chennai to show the glory of agriculture to the younger generation. Videos based on folk songs and Agricultural songs will be played in the museum. Rs 2 crore has been set aside for this project.
Panneerselvam said that farmers who invent new local farming techniques and machinery will be rewarded with the award. Best performing farmers who achieve maximum production by adopting traditional organic farming practices and exporters who excel in agricultural exports will also be rewarded with the award.
A high-level committee for agriculture will be constituted at the state level under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to review agricultural schemes and suggest solutions to farmers’ problems.
Rupee. Rs 2,327 crore has been allocated for the crop insurance scheme for the year 2021-2022.
Sugarcane farmers supplying the product to sugar mills will be paid a transitional production incentive at the rate of Rs 42.50 per tonne for the crushing season of 2020-21. 40 crore has been allocated for this.
Apart from this, the government has also decided to accept Rs 150 per tonne of sugarcane as a ‘special incentive’. It will be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the farmers.
The government will also take steps to improve the area and production of horticultural crops that can be grown in all types of soils.
29.12 crore has been allocated to promote fruit cultivation.
Two lakh seed kits containing 12 types of vegetable seeds at subsidized rates will be distributed in rural areas to encourage the production of fresh and residue free vegetables at households for daily needs and to make children learn about plants. One lakh terrace garden kits along with seeds of 6 types of vegetables will also be distributed at subsidized rates in urban areas.
Rs 95 crore has been allocated for various measures to increase soil fertility. A new horticulture park will be set up at Vadalur at a cost of Rs 1 crore.
To help the farmers, 7,106 agricultural machinery and equipment will be distributed at subsidized rates. Solar powered pump-sets with a capacity of 10 horsepower will be installed at 70 per cent subsidy.
Around 50 Uzhavar Santhai (Farmers Market) will be revamped by spending Rs 12.50 crore. 10 new Uzhavar santhai will be set up in nagar panchayats and other urban areas of Cuddalore, Dindigul, Erode, Karur, Pudukkottai, Tirunelveli, Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur, Vellore and Kallakurichi districts. Six crore rupees will be spent for this.
Modern cold storages will be set up at Odanchattiram and Panruti.
The Minister also said that the sale of farm fresh vegetables and fruits through mobile shops will continue as the initiative has benefited both consumers and farmers immensely. On a pilot basis, 30 mobile vegetable shops will be operated in five corporations, Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruppur. 40 percent or Rs. of subsidy. 2 lakh, whichever is less, will be provided to rural agricultural youth to purchase vehicles for this purpose.
The government will set up an integrated rural agricultural market complex at Edapally village on the border of Coonoor and Kotagiri at a cost of Rs 2 crore.
To facilitate farmers to dry their produce to desired moisture content and sell it in regulated markets, the government will construct 28 drying yards at Cuddalore, Villupuram, Salem, Namakkal, Krishnagiri, Erode, Trichy, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Madurai, Ramanathapuram . Theni, Dindigul, Tiruppur and Kanyakumari districts at a cost of Rs. 3.5 crores.
The government has also proposed a scheme for setting up an Agri Export Facilitation Center to promote export trade by farmers and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). The infrastructure for the building is being constructed in Guindy, Chennai at a cost of Rs 1 crore.
A ‘Modern Agricultural Marketing Center’ will be set up at Kolathur, Chennai Corporation at a cost of Rs 1 crore to provide farm fresh vegetables in the city.
E-auction will be encouraged in all regulated markets. The government will take steps to bring all regulated markets, mandis, FPOs under one software platform and connect them with traders at the national level. With the formation of this platform, farmers will be able to get maximum price for their produce. The marketing centers will also be linked to the e-auction platform which will create a link between the farmers and the markets. 10 crore will be allocated for this.
Panneerselvam said the government would take steps to get GI tag for traditional unique products like Kolli Hills-pepper, Panrutti-jack and Ponni rice.
The government is also planning to set up a separate and specialized food processing organization. In addition, to encourage entrepreneurs who come forward to start food processing business, food processing at five locations including Nagapattinam for fish based products, Coimbatore for coconut, Trichy for banana, Erode for turmeric and Virudhunagar for millet Processing incubation centers will be started.
A new horticulture college will be set up at Jeenur near Krishnagiri district, while a turmeric research center will be set up at Bavanisagar near Erode.
Remote sensing technology will be used to capture information for effective implementation of crop insurance programme. An amount of Rs 72 lakh has been allocated for implementing this programme. In addition, maps of 17,514 irrigation tanks will be digitized and their water dispersion will be monitored using satellite data.
The minister also said that Nammazhavar Organic Farming Research Center will be set up at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore at a cost of Rs 3 crore.
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