A Bill seeking to amend the Tamil Nadu State Agriculture Council Act 2009 (Tamil Nadu Act 19 of 2009) was introduced in the Assembly on Monday.
Agriculture Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan, who introduced the Bill, said that an amendment was necessary because the existing Act prevented “the activities of sharing or advising the farmers by the people who have traditional knowledge and by the non-governmental organisations.”
He pointed out that in Tamil Nadu, while “those who qualify in agriculture or horticulture do not practise the same or take up farming activities, as in the case of those who qualify in medicine and law,” traditional farmers, who possessed the knowledge of natural farming or their representatives, could not become the members of the Council because they did not possess agricultural qualification.
“Ultimately, the Act will prevent natural way of farming, the independence of farming community and the education of agriculture will rest in the hands of private entrepreneurs,” he said.