Tamil Nadu lays focus on millet mission and organic farming in agriculture budget

Implementing a mission to increase the cultivation area of millets to 50,000 acres over a period of five years, distributing 15 lakh coconut seedlings for free, encouraging farmers to take up alternative crop cultivation during kuruvai (short-term) crop season, promote organic farming, and securing Geographical Indication (GI) for ten more products.

These are some of the important announcements made in the third exclusive agriculture budget presented by the DMK government in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday. Presenting the document, Agriculture Minister M R K Panneerselvam said the Tamil Nadu Millet Mission will provide subsidy for bringing millet cultivation to fallow lands and crop diversification to millets in 50,000 acres.

To encourage organic farming, the government will form 725 clusters covering an area of 14,500 hectare in 32 districts and create awareness about the importance of Organic Farming among farmers, rural youth, farm women and students.

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He said 100 groups of millet producers will be formed by bringing together millet farmers and subsidies will be provided to install sprinkler irrigation systems for 12,500 acres, while Millet Festivals will be celebrated to create awareness among consumers and increase millet consumption. The mission will be implemented with financial assistance from Union and state governments at a cost of Rs 82 crore.

The State Agriculture Development Scheme is being implemented as a major scheme with multifarious components to meet the immediate needs of farmers and to increase their income. In the coming year, the scheme will be implemented at an outlay of Rs.64 crore on the following components.

The agriculture budget said 10 farmers who have traditional rice seed banks will be given Rs 30 lakh each at the rate of three lakh rupees in the coming year and announced a cash award of Rs five lakh to the farmer with the highest yield in rice crop at state-level. The government also allotted Rs 16 crore to encourage farmers to cultivate less water requiring crops like millets, pulses and oilseeds during kuruvai in an area of one lakh acres.

Referring to the Sangam-era practice of sowing millets, pulses, oilseeds and cotton using the residual moisture before harvesting paddy, the minister said an allocation of Rs 24 crore has been made to further expand and enrich this practice

The government also announced that WhatsApp groups of farmers at block levels will be formed to enable instantaneous sharing of information related to technologies, market conditions, weather forecasts, subsidy schemes, pests and disease attacks. Further, such groups will also be formed at the district and State levels by converging the block level groups.

The budget also focussed on the shortage of cotton faced by mill owners in Tamil Nadu by announcing a mission to increase production of cotton on a sustainable basis with an allocation of Rs 12 crore for increasing cotton production to 4.52 lakh bales.

A cluster for jasmine centred at Madurai, cultivation of horticultural crops on cluster basis, jack mission, chilli zone, curry leaf cluster, and moringa mission.

The budget also laid much focus on micro irrigation and allotted Rs 744 crore for the purpose and said the state will insist the Union Government to relax the ceiling of five hectare to avail subsidy for micro irrigation and increase it to 10 hectare and to reduce the minimum period from seven years to five years to re-avail subsidy for micro irrigation in the same field.

The minister said efforts will be taken to get GI for Krishnagiri Arasampatti Coconut, Krishnagiri Panneer Rose, Thanjavur Peravoorani Coconut, Mulanoor Kuttai Moringa, Sattur Cucumber, Thanjavur Veeramangudi Jaggery (Achu vellam), Thoothukudi Vilathikulam Chilli, Cuddalore Kotimulai Brinjal, Madurai Sengarumbu and Sivagangai Karuppukavuni rice.