THANJAVUR: Farmers in the delta region welcomed the incentive announced by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay in the Assembly on Monday, though some said the amount was lower than what had been promised in the TVK manifesto.
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced an incentive of Rs 289 per quintal for fine variety paddy and Rs 159 per quintal for common variety paddy. The incentive for sugarcane has been fixed at Rs 709.50 per tonne.
Sami Natarajan, state general secretary of the TN Farmers Association, said with the new announcement, farmers will get Rs 2,750 per quintal for fine variety paddy and Rs 2,600 per quintal for common variety paddy.
"This hike is a welcome one. Though TVK had announced Rs 3,500 per quintal of paddy, the present announcement could be taken as the first step. We hope the government will fulfil its promise of Rs 3,500 in the coming years," he said.
P Govindaraj, secretary of the Sugarcane Farmers Association, pointed out that the government has announced Rs 4,000 per tonne of sugarcane.
"It would have been better if the government had announced Rs 4,500 per tonne as promised in the TVK manifesto," he said, adding that farmers have been demanding Rs 5,000 per tonne due to the steep increase in the prices of fertilisers.
“We welcome the increased incentives for fine variety and for the other variety too in a single instance. Despite the difficult financial situation, the Chief Minister has accepted the farmers’ demand and increased the support price. I thank him and the Tamil Nadu government wholeheartedly. I hope that, if the State’s financial position improves in the coming years, the government will provide a further increase in the incentive,” said S R Tamilselvan of the Tamil Nadu Farmers' Protection Association, Nagapattinam.