CHENNAI: Agriculture Minister MRK Panneerselvam has ordered the formation of a special monitoring cell at the directorate of agriculture to oversee and respond to the day-to-day issues of farmers, including those related to pests, fertiliser availability, and other concerns.
He also instructed officials to maintain an uninterrupted fertiliser supply, prevent forced sales of additional products, and stock adequate quantities in advance. He said, based on the CM's request, the union government has allotted an additional 12,000 metric tonnes of urea to Tamil Nadu ahead of the northeast monsoon.
Panneerselvam also directed the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Marketing Federation (TANFED) and the Thanjavur Cooperative Marketing Federation (TCMF) to maintain sufficient fertiliser stocks at cooperative outlets in line with the samba season requirements. He also instructed them to verify stock positions by matching Point-of-Sale (PoS) data with physical stock records, form monitoring teams for this purpose, and appoint representatives to ensure continuous supervision of fertiliser movement from railway terminals to cooperative depots.
The district joint directors and deputy directors (Quality Control) have been instructed to monitor stock positions daily at every retail outlet, ensure timely replenishment, and immediately restock outlets facing shortages.
Tamil Nadu has set a target of 55 lakh acres for paddy cultivation this year, with 12.33 lakh acres already harvested during the Kuruvai and Sornavari seasons, and 10.35 lakh acres under cultivation for the samba season, the minister said. Over four and a half years, 1.86 lakh free electricity connections have been provided to farmers, expanding cultivation by 3.62 lakh acres, he added.
