NAGAPATTINAM: The farmers across the coastal delta districts still coping with crop losses brought
about by bouts of unseasonal rains in the recent past heaved a sigh of relief after the state government, while tabling Tuesday's agriculture budget, announced its decision to allot Rs 25 crore just for the purchase of farm machinery, including harvesters, across the state through the agriculture engineering department.
In total, Rs 125 crore has been allotted from union government and state government funds for the purchase of agriculture components, including value addition machinery, machinery for sugarcane cultivation and hiring centres. Equipment such as tractors, rotavators, cultivators, sugarcane and paddy harvesters will be purchased with the Rs 25 crore, and later rented out to farmers at nominal charges
through the e-vadagai mobile application, said Minister for Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare MRK Panneerselvam.
Meanwhile, farmers expressed content after Minister Panneerselvam announced Rs 500-crore, NABARD-assisted allotment for the purchase of farm machinery through Primary Agricultural Co-operative Credit Societies (PACCSs).
"It is essential that the government rent out harvesters to each of the revenue blocks so that farmers do not have to pay exorbitant charges to private operators. Around three harvest machines only are available for the districts. We demand more operators and mechanics too," said R Rajasekar, a farmer-representative based out of Mayiladuthurai district.
It was also announced in the budget that the service of agricultural engineering department will be extended to block-level integrated agriculture extension centre (IAEC). Under the 'One Village Two Power Tillers' initiative of the 'Kalaignarin All Village Integrated Agriculture Development Programme' (KAVIADP), around 5,000 power tillers are set to be distributed to as many as 2,504 villages across the state with a subsidy of Rs 43 crore in the coming year.
Meanwhile, Minister Panneerselvam said skill development training related to the operating of harvesting machines will be given to 500 people at a cost of Rs 1 crore in six workshops in Vellore, Coimbatore, Tiruchy, Madurai, Tiruvarur and Tirunelveli. Training will be provided at the cost of Rs 50 lakh in regard to repairing of machines.
An official from the agriculture department stated that proposals were sent to the government for the purchase of at least four harvesters to each of the blocks in the coastal delta districts.