Organic push in TN budget to give farmers’ income green shoots
‘Horticulture, a key driver of agricultural growth in TN’
“This provides Rs 3,500 per MT to benefit 1.30 lakh sugarcane farmers, and Rs 297 crore will be allocated for this,” the minister said. Farmers, however, have been demanding Rs 5,500 per tonne due to increase in production cost.
The minister said the total area under horticulture crops has reached 16.3 lakh hectares in 2023-24, making horticulture a key driver of agricultural growth in TN. The initiatives to promote natural/organic farming include: Establishing natural farming clusters, marketing organic and natural farming products, full subsidy for pesticide residue testing to organic farmers, exemption of certification fees for organic farming certification, and setting up Quality Control Laboratories in four places, etc. The Nutrition Farming Mission aims to boost the income of farmers and to ensure the availability of nutritious vegetables, fruits, pulses, etc, to consumers. Under this scheme, Fruit Plant Kits with three quick-bearing fruits will be given to nine lakh families while Pulses Kits will be distributed to one lakh households at 75% subsidy.
Under the agriculture mechanisation programme, 5,000 agricultural machinery and implements will be distributed in 2,338 villages to benefit 17,000 farmers. Another key announcement is the Hill Farmers Development Scheme for the welfare of 63,000 hill farmers at an outlay of Rs 22.80 crore with components such as minor millets cultivation, distribution of inputs, area expansion in vegetable crops, value addition, micro-irrigation and integrated farming system. Through the Kalaignarin All Village Integrated Agricultural Development Programme in 10,187 village panchayats over the past four years, 46,000 acres of fallow land have been brought under cultivation. The CM’s Mannuyir Kathu Mannuyir Kappom scheme benefited 21.35 lakh farmers under various components.
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