Farmer organizations in Tamil Nadu have slammed the state’s Agriculture Budget for lacking “concrete initiatives” to ensure fair prices for their produce and failing to fulfill key election promises, reported The Hindu.
Criticism has been particularly directed towards the ruling party for not fulfilling its electoral commitment to increase the procurement price of sugarcane to ₹4,000 per tonne and that of paddy to ₹2,500 per quintal.
Mahadhanapuram V. Rajaram, president of the Cauvery Irrigation Farmers Welfare Association, expressed concern about the absence of measures to ensure profitable prices through value addition, strengthen market linkages, stabilize horticulture produce prices, or promote the food processing industry. He noted a perceived reliance on subsidies, leaving farmers in a perpetual state of dependency.
P.R. Pandian, president of the Coordination Committee of All Farmers Associations of Tamil Nadu, and Sundara Vimalnathan, secretary of the Thanjavur District Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, criticized the government for not fulfilling its promises to increase the procurement price of paddy and sugarcane. Pandian emphasized the need for the government to honor its election promises rather than merely projecting them into the Agriculture Budget.
Vimalnathan expressed dissatisfaction with the meager ₹20 per metric tonne hike in the special incentive for sugarcane, considering it an insult to farmers. Both Pandian and Vimalnathan questioned the credibility of the Agriculture Budget, emphasizing that financial allocations were essential for the successful implementation of announced schemes.
