CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments have agreed in principle to provide subsidies for farmers in the Cauvery basin, who are willing to make transition from traditional farming to tree-based agroforestry, and a formal announcement would be made in two or three weeks, claimed Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev of Isha Foundation on Thursday.
During an interaction, the spiritual leader, who is spearheading a campaign called “Cauvery Calling”, said his interaction with the Chief Ministers of both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the last few days were fruitful. “Farmers adopting agroforestry would require support for the first four years as they would experience losses to the tune of 15 per cent to 50 per cent. From fifth year, the farmers will start earning Rs 3.7 lakh and above.”
He claimed the Centre had also agreed to relax certain environmental laws that currently restrict farmers from felling and transporting trees from their lands.