RAMANATHAPURAM: Even though the agriculture budget had something in store for the chilli crop for the second consecutive year, with a focus on developing its cultivation in Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar and other southern districts, farmers expressed mixed views over the announcements.
The announcements made in the budget on Tuesday included the cultivation of horticulture crops in conducive environments to yield distinctively high-quality products, resulting in favourable market prices.
Following requests from farmers, back-ended subsidies will be extended to those cultivating geo-tagged Mundu chillies. To encourage increased cultivation of these area-specific horticultural crops, quality planting materials will be provided at subsidised rates, for which Rs2.7 crore will be earmarked.
As per the announcement made last year, Prosopis, a type of shrub, has been successfully eradicated on over 2,470 acres and chillies have been cultivated in its place. In 2024-25, Proposis eradication will continue on an additional 1,230 acres and chillies will be cultivated in its place. The effort is focused on the chilli cluster, which includes Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, Sivaganga and Thoothukudi districts.
Further, chillies will be promoted as a fallow crop on nearly 3,700 acres, after the harvest of paddy and other grains. 200 water harvesting pits will also be created in Sivagangaand Ramanathapuram districts and Rs3.67 crore will be allotted towards this cause.
M Ramar, a chilli farmer and exporter from Ramanathapuram said, “It is highly appreciable that the government has initiated several schemes for chilli cultivation, especially for the southern districts. However, several issues remain unaddressed. For example, MSP for Mundu and Samba chilli, which has high demand, is yet to be fixed. The prices of these chillies keep fluctuating in the market. As of date, these chillies cost Rs200 per kilogram in the market. There is also a need for cold storage facilities near chilli cultivation areas as farmers are forced to shell out nearly Rs 5,000 to transport the chilli crop from the farm to private cold storage facilities. If the chillies are not stored properly, they may spoil.”
Ramar also said that considering the demand in the international market, the state government must promote organic cultivation methods while also promoting chilli cultivation.
MSK Bakkianathan, president of the TN Vaigai Irrigation Farmers Association said, “There is much history when it comes to chilli and Ramanathapuram. In the past, nearly one lakh hectares of land was used for chilli cultivation. However, this has now dropped to 14,000 hectares as large tracts of land turned barren owing to irrigation issues. It is appreciable that the government is taking measures to clear invasive species and cultivate chilli as a fallow crop.
Still, many tracts of land lie barren. The government must take elaborate measures to convert them into cultivable land. Even though there were announcements about establishing water harvesting systems in Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga districts, it has to be expanded to more areas to promote cultivation.
Bakkianathan also said that it is disappointing that there was no announcement regarding fixing MSPs for chilli and cotton, which are the second most cultivated crops in the district after paddy. Technical and awareness programmes have to be hosted at grassroots levels, instead of block levels, to assist farmers with measures to be taken in case of pest infestation and other issues.
