CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced a single-year hike in incentives for paddy and sugarcane farmers, under which fine variety paddy will fetch Rs 2,750 per quintal, common variety paddy Rs 2,600 per quintal, and sugarcane Rs 4,000 per tonne.
Making the announcement under Rule 110 of the Assembly, ahead of the paddy procurement season starting September 1, the CM said the state incentive for fine variety paddy has been raised by Rs 289 per quintal and that of common variety paddy by Rs 159 per quintal, above the minimum support price.
“Despite the state’s financial position not being favourable at present, we have decided to protect the welfare of paddy and sugarcane farmers by increasing the state incentive to a level never seen before in Tamil Nadu’s history,” the CM told the Assembly. This is the first time the paddy incentive is being raised by over Rs 156 in a single year, he added.
On sugarcane, Vijay said the centre had fixed Rs 3,290.50 per metric tonne for the 2025-26 crushing season for farmers registered with sugar mills, to which the state will add a special incentive of Rs 709.50 per tonne, taking the total to Rs 4,000 per tonne.
The CM noted that over the last five years, the special sugarcane incentive had gone up by only Rs 156 cumulatively, whereas this year alone it has been raised by Rs 360.50. “This is the first time the increase has crossed Rs 134 per tonne in a single year,” he added.
“Our government will never abandon farmers. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with them at all times to ensure agriculture and rural livelihoods thrive,” Vijay said.
Single-year incentive hike highest in TN’s history: Agri minister
Speaking on the budget, former agriculture minister MRK Panneerselvam alleged that there was nothing new in the budget and asked why the government could not provide the promised amount of Rs 4,500 per tonne for sugarcane and Rs 3,500 per quintal for paddy.
In response, Agriculture Minister R Vinoth said the previous government had not given what it had promised in its election manifesto. “The single year incentive hike announced by the CM is the highest ever in the history of the state,” he said, recalling the amount of incentives given by the previous DMK government.
Heated debate over ration rice quality, falling sugarcane acreage
Meanwhile, a sharp exchange broke out in the Assembly over ration rice quality and shrinking sugarcane cultivation. While claiming that procurement has risen under the current government, Food Minister P Venkatraman said people had complained of poor-quality, blackened rice under the DMK regime.
Countering the claim, former minister R Sakkarapani said 4,000 direct paddy procurement centres were opened during the DMK’s tenure and rice mills were upgraded to ensure that rice free of brown husk was supplied to the public.
Continuing the debate, Minister Aadhav Arjuna asked whether it was fair to compare a five-year term of governance with just three months in office. He said the government had, true to its poll promise, waived Rs 5,932 crore in farm loans, something the DMK had not even promised in its manifesto. Responding to which, DMK MLA MRK Paneerselvam said it was during the DMK rule that discoloured rice was eliminated from ration shops.
Amid the heated debate, Speaker JCD Prabhakar recalled an anecdote from February 12, 1984, when he was travelling with former CM MGR Ramachandran near West KK Nagar and spotted a crowd outside a ration shop in Villivakkam constituency.
“MGR stopped the car, sat on a stool, inspected the rice and its weight, and asked residents if the shop opened on time. Before leaving, MGR said, ‘As long as this remains in order, we will keep coming back to power again and again’. I remember this whenever ration rice comes up for discussion,” the Speaker said.