The Kalaignar’s All Village Integrated Agricultural Scheme would be implemented at a cost of Rs 269.50 crore to improve the living standards of farmers who had gained independence in 2338 village panchayats
Chennai: Unveiling a special package to increase the production of paddy in the State at a cost of Rs 160 crore, the State government would enhance cultivation area during the various seasons like Kar, Kurvai and Sornavari in 29 districts outside the Cauvery delta region, State Agriculture Minister M R K Pannerselvam said on Saturday.
Presenting the annual Agriculture Budget for 2025-26 in the Assembly, he made several announcements including the setting up of 1000 ‘Chief Minister’s Farmers’ Welfare Service Centres, equipped with modern technology, to advise farmers. The services of experts and agricultural graduates would be used to run those centres all over the State, he said in his fifth exclusive budget.
For the scheme to increase paddy production, Rs 160 crore had been allotted for bringing 34 lakh acres of land outside the delta area region and another Rs 58 crore for bringing 18 lakh acre in the Cauvery delta under cultivation, he said.
Proposing a massive mechanization of agricultural operations, the agriculture budget envisaged improving the lifestyle of 17,000 farmers in the State at a cost of Rs 215.80 crore and that of 63,000 hill tribes through a specific scheme for the welfare of farmers living in the hilly regions.
Among the various other schemes that were announced in the Budget were the allocation of Rs 841 crore for a Crop Insurance Scheme aimed at saving the livelihood of farmers who were affected by natural disasters, formation of a Cashew Board for the first time in the State through an allocation of Rs 10 crore and arranging international trips for paddy farmers to have international exposure.
A farming subsidy of Rs 24 crore was announced by Panneerselvam for farmers to undertake summer cultivation in 3 lakh acres of fallow land and Rs 1,168 crore was earmarked for providing irrigation to 3 lakh acres of land, he said.
With a view to encourage farmers to continue cultivating traditional crops, Geographical Indication would be obtained for more exclusive agriculture products of the State. Among the produces named by the Minister in the agriculture budget were Nallur Varahu (Cuddalore), Vedaranyam jasmine (Nagapattinam), Natham Tamarind (Dindigul), Ayakudi Guava (Dindigul) and Kappalpatti Sugarcane drumstick (Dindigul).
The Kalaignar’s All Village Integrated Agricultural Scheme would be implemented at a cost of Rs 269.50 crore to improve the living standards of farmers who had gained independence in 2338 village panchayats.
To provide facilities for 100 per cent value addition to agricultural products, Rs 50 crore has been allocated for setting up the required units, with each of them getting a subsidy of Rs 1.5 crore. To encourage the millet movement, the budget earmarked Rs 52.44 crore and another Rs 40 crore for improving corn cultivation in the State.
Some of the other proposals were to promote organic farmers with an allocation of Rs 12 crore, shift to crops consuming less water at a cost of Rs 12.50 crore, encourage seed production at a cost of Rs 250 crore and increase cotton production under a Rs 12.21 crore scheme.
