CHENNAI: Disbursal of relief to farmers affected by drought and flood, separate crop insurance scheme for Tamil Nadu, procuring sugar for public distribution system from TN mills, commencing dredging of watercourses from March, and making ethanol production mandatory in all sugar mills were among the suggestions for 2022-23 budget put forth by farmers' associations at the pre-budget meeting chaired by Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Wednesday.
Agriculture Minister MRK Panneerselvam and senior officials took part in the meeting. According to T Ravindran, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Sugarcane Farmers Association, sugarcane cultivation and sugar output have dropped drastically in Tamil Nadu over the past 10 years. Sugar production which stood at 23 lakh tonnes in 2012-13, dropped 75% to 8.75 lakh tonnes in 2020-21.
Restoration of SAP (state advised price) from the current year by scrapping revenue-sharing price fixation formula, modernisation of public sector sugar mills to increase their crushing capacity, resuming co-generation units in cooperative sugar mills, and establishing ethanol plants in sugar mills were some of the demands of the association.
Ravindran also said the State should take steps to pay Rs.800 crore due to sugarcane farmers from seven private mills. The procurement price for sugarcane should also be hiked to Rs.4,000 per tonne, he said. R Viruthagiri, president, Consortium of Indian Farmers Association, said to help farmers and sugar mills survive the present crisis, TN must arrange soft loans or ways and means advances and this amount should be credited to farmers’ bank accounts directly. The incentive given by the State for sugarcane should be increased to Rs.300 per tonne from 2022-23.
Farmers who wish to shift to sugarcane cultivation should also be given an incentive of Rs.10,000 per acre for the first two years, he said. Establishment of paddy drying yards near DPCS, procuring paddy with moisture content up to 22 per cent, operating the direct procurement centres at regulated markets to save farmers from the grip of traders, and increasing the crop loan for paddy and sugarcane were among the other requests made by Viruthagiri. PR Pandian, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers Association, suggested that a high-level committee headed by a Chief Secretary-cadre IAS officer should be formed to coordinate the functions of the departments of agriculture, water resources, cooperation, food and revenue.
Desilting of watercourses should start from the month of March and permanent G.O providing for funds for such works should be issued. Farmers should also get due representation in the proposed legislative council.
The advisory committee for agriculture should be manned by farmers without any political interference. The ‘kudimaramath’ scheme which was suspended last year should be resumed, he said. Delta V Sathyanarayanan, general secretary of Consortium of Cauvery Delta Farmers, demanded higher subsidy for certified paddy seeds.