TIRUCHY/MADURAI: Farmers across the Cauvery delta and southern districts have expressed disappointment over the interim agriculture budget, saying it has failed to address core demands such as crop loan waiver, higher allocations for canal restoration, drought mitigation and remunerative prices for farm produce.
Farmer leaders in delta districts said expectations were high as the interim budget was projected to function on the lines of a full-year budget. However, the absence of any announcement on crop loan waiver and only marginal increases in key allocations has left them dissatisfied.
P Govindaraj, district organiser of the Thanjavur Farmers Association from Thozhgiripatti, said the allocation for canal restoration, including desilting, stood at Rs 3,954 crore in 2025-26, which has been raised by only Rs 718 crore for 2026-27.
“This is inadequate given the scale of desilting and maintenance required across the delta,” he said. Crop loans through cooperative societies have been increased from last year by just Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 701.5 crore), he said, expressing hope that the regular budget would substantially enhance the provision.
S Vimalnathan, secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, said farmers were keenly expecting a loan waiver, recalling that a similar announcement had been made in the 2021-22 interim budget by the AIADMK government led by Edappadi K Palaniswami. He also flagged concerns over rural development funding, pointing out that the allocation for rural development, including MGNREGS, stood at Rs 6,329 crore, which is only Rs 184 crore higher than the current fiscal , despite increased obligations under revised norms.
Sami Natarajan, state general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, said the failure to ensure MSP based on the M S Swaminathan formula had pushed farmers into distress. In this context, he said, a cooperative farm loan waiver would have provided immediate relief. He also urged the state government to increase sugarcane procurement prices to Rs 4,000 per tonne and revise milk procurement rates.
S R Tamilselvan of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association in Nagapattinam said farmers were hoping for stronger support for rural job scheme and a price stabilisation mechanism for crops such as tomato. He said that despite official claims of drying yard construction, none were available in the district.
Mahadanapuram V Rajaram, president of the Cauvery Irrigation Farmers Welfare Association, criticised the announcement of a new agriculture college in Karur when infrastructure for an already sanctioned college was yet to be completed.
Similar voices of dissatisfaction echoed across southern districts. Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association general secretary Vadivel said allocations for drought prevention were grossly inadequate for long-term water conservation and climate-resilient agriculture.
M Seeniraj, the association’s coordinator from Theni, said mango growers in Periyakulam were uprooting orchards due to poor prices, while maize farmers were forced to sell produce at Rs 1,800 per quintal against their demand of Rs 2,500.
Tamil Nadu Farmers Association Dindigul district president M Ramasamy said drought mitigation efforts must prioritise water management, desilting and Kudimaramathu works, arguing that the Rs 110-crore allocation fell far short of the state’s extensive requirements.