Pegging foodgrain production in 2015-16 at 130.63 lakh tonnes, an unprecedented achievement, the State government has said it has ushered in an agricultural renaissance, overcoming several constraints in the agricultural sector.
According to the policy note tabled in the Assembly on Friday, the government’s efforts accelerated growth in agriculture production and the initiatives introduced by it have set in a definite path to usher in second green revolution in the State, surpassing 100 lakh tonnes of foodgrain production in 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2014-15. Needless to say, the fourth advance estimates for the foodgrain production during 2015-16 has been pegged at 130.63 lakh tonnes, which has never been achieved before, said R. Doraikannu, Agriculture Minister.
In the last five years, the State surpassed 100 lakh tonnes four times. For 2016-17, the State has set a target of 147.80 lakh tonnes. The vision was to double agriculture production and triple the farmers’ income, he said.
In the last five years, 11,880 villages were covered by the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) as a whole village concept and 27.20 lakh acres were brought under this technology, which helped it get a yield of 4,429 kg of paddy per hectare, he said, adding that this year 3,000 more villages were being covered by SRI.
In the Budget Speech 2016-2017, it was announced that the Tamil Nadu Agricultural Produce (Regulation) Act 1987 will be amended for improving the marketing of agricultural produce. In order to implement National Agriculture Market, amendments are required in the existing Tamil Nadu Agricultural Marketing (Regulation) Act 1987 to include e-Trading, single point levy of market fee, unified single licence, private market, direct wholesale market, contract farming and a farmers consumer market.
For the promotion of NAM, 100 Regulated Markets are selected on the basis of commodity arrival for availing financial assistance for hardware. Assaying equipment under the central scheme for promotion of NAM through Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund (ATIF) is under progress, the Minister said.
A special scheme for the establishment of supply chain management for fruits, vegetables and perishables in 10 districts at a cost of Rs.398.75 crore was being taken up. Administrative sanction had been obtained for the project and preliminary work initiated in all the districts, Mr. Doraikannu said.
‘Pipeline method’In an attempt to reduce wastage of water during the irrigation of paddy, the State government would launch ‘pipeline method’ in over 61,640 acres on a pilot-basis at a cost of Rs. 1.58 crore. It would be implemented in Cuddalore district. Subsidy would be given to farmers to encourage high density mango cultivation on about 2,750 acres.
