CHENNAI: Ahead of the second agriculture budget, which will be presented in the Assembly on Saturday, the Congress has suggested that the government roll out a new brand of rice, named ‘Kalaignar Rice’. The party’s suggestion seems to have caught the attention of Agriculture Minister MRK Panneerselvam.
With Panneerselvam and officials of the agriculture department inviting various stakeholders to give their suggestions/inputs for the agriculture budget, farmers, farmers’ associations and farmer wings of various political parties had given their views.
On behalf of the Congress Party, State general secretary GK Muralidharan and general secretary of the party’s farmer wing AVM Venkatesan, submitted a memorandum to the minister. One of the suggestions was about introducing a ‘Kalaignar Rice’ brand, similar to ‘Valimai Cement’ and Amma drinking water bottles.
Talking to TNIE, Muralidharan said: “Though the Delta districts are considered the ‘rice bowl’ of the State, Tamil people are purchasing rice brands for their domestic need from neighbouring States. The State government can change this to an extent.
The government, which procures several lakhs of tonnes of paddy directly from farmers, should also be directly involved in processing paddy into rice, package and market the produce as ‘Kalaignar Rice’. The brand could be sold at affordable rates and farmers too may benefit if the government buys paddy from them at higher costs.”
He further noted that Panneerselvam lauded the Congress team for its suggestion and got their mobile numbers for further communication. All India Farmers Association general secretary GS Dhanapathy told TNIE, “Though it’s a good suggestion, it would require lots of planning and attention of government authorities. If the government properly implements the project with step-by-step monitoring, it would be beneficial for farmers and consumers.”