TN Agriculture Budget: Rs 14,000 crore for cooperative crop loan, one-stop portal, overseas tours for farmers; and more

He said that during the 2022-23 Kharif season, 27.23 lakh metric tonnes of paddy had been procured from 3.73 lakh farmers, for which Rs 5,778 crore had been disbursed. Similarly, for the procurement of paddy next year, an allocation of Rs 500 crore had been made to provide incentives at Rs 100 and Rs 75 per quintal for fine and bold varieties, respectively.

Highlights of Tamil Nadu Agriculture Budget

– Rs 2,337 crore allocated as the state government’s share of premium subsidy for crop insurance.

– Kalaignarin All Village Integrated Agriculture Development Programme, an initiative to make each hamlet self-sufficient, to be implemented at an outlay of Rs 230 crore in 2,504 villages.

– Cooperative crop loan to the tune of Rs 14,000 crore will be given to farmers. Likewise, interest-free cooperative loan of Rs 1,500 crore will be given to farmers for goat rearing, dairying, poultry and fisheries activities.

– Rs 744 crore will be allocated for the implementation of the micro irrigation scheme. Rs 450 crore will be spent to cover 53,400 hectares under micro irrigation in the group of villages where agriculture is affected due to water shortage.

– The Nammazhvar award will be given to farmers who practise and promote organic farming and hand-hold fellow organic farmers. The award of Rs 5 lakh and a citation will be given on Republic Day.

– Rs 500 crore with the assistance of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to buy agricultural machinery through Primary Agricultural Co-operative Credit Societies (PACCSs). The machines will be available in every village and the farmers can hire them through e-Vaadagai App.

– For farmers to avail various government scheme benefits, a portal called GRAINS (Grower Online Registration of Agriculture Input System) will be introduced.

– A new regional startup hub to be created in Thanjavur by the Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission to promote agrotechnological innovations in the Cauvery delta region. Through the agro-industrial corridor in the delta region, projects of agriculture-related sectors will be coordinated and effectively implemented at an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore in the next five years.

– To increase cotton production to 4.52 lakh bales, ‘Sustainable Cotton Cultivation Mission’ will continue at a cost of Rs 12 crore.

– Rs 253 crore to provide a special incentive of Rs 195 over and above the fair and remunerative price (FRP) of Rs 2,821 per MT of cane announced by the Union government to eligible farmers during the 2022-23 crushing season. This measure is to benefit around 1.50 lakh sugarcane farmers.

– A scheme to stabilise the supply of onion and tomato throughout the year.

– A subsidy of Rs 50,000 will be extended to 10,000 integrated farming system units and Rs 50 crore will be allocated.

– An additional 20 per cent subsidy to be provided for small and marginal farmers of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

– Kits containing perennial fruit seedlings such as mango, guava, jackfruit, amla, acid lime, and custard apple will be distributed to 10 lakh households at an outlay of Rs 15 crore.

– Rs 5 crore each for the beautification of government botanical gardens, Yercaud and horticultural park and Madhavaram in Chennai.

– Around 150 farmers will be taken on an overseas tour to countries like Israel, Netherlands, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, Philippines etc to teach them about the high-yielding technologies at a cost of Rs 3 crore.

– Farm tourism to be promoted in association with the education department for school students at a cost of Rs 1 crore.

– Geographical indication (GI) for ten products at an outlay of Rs 30 lakh.

– Twenty-five farmers’ markets to be renovated at a cost of Rs 9 crore.

– Expansion of the electronic national agriculture markets (e-NAM) for Rs 9 crore.

– A specific cluster development scheme at cost of Rs 130 crore for bananas in the Theni district.

– To provide information about newly released high-yielding varieties, cultivation technologies, crop protection methods, marketing strategies in agriculture, etc., one scientist from agricultural colleges, research centres or Krishi Vigyan Kendras is set to be appointed as officer-in-charge for each block.

– Desiltation in rivers, canals and drainage channels in the Cauvery delta command area at an estimated cost of Rs 90 crore.