The Tamil Nadu government will soon launch ‘Amma seeds’ and an ‘Amma Farm Women Skill Development Centre’ at a cost of Rs. 113.26 crore and establish 770 farm women groups.
Announcing several schemes in the Assembly on Thursday, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said the State was poised to achieve a new high of 110.65 lakh metric tonnes in agricultural production this year.
Under the new initiative to encourage farmers to use certified seeds, the government would integrate the State seed farms, the seed production centres and farmers. A seed development agency would be established to market the ‘Amma seeds’ through ‘Amma service centre’ outlets.
Ms. Jayalalithaa said that to encourage farm-related research and help rural farmers and youth, three agricultural colleges and research centres would be opened at Kudimiyanmalai in Pudukottai, Eachankottai in Thanjavur and Vazhavachanur in Tiruvannamalai district.
To step up agricultural production, an integrated agricultural extension scheme for farmers would be implemented at a cost of Rs. 16.9 crore. The benefits of the Farmers Crop Management System would be extended to horticulturists. It would offer information technology-linked post-production management strategies.
The State would set up integrated agricultural extension centres in 50 blocks at a cost of Rs. 75 crore, the Chief Minister said. The centres would provide assistance, including agricultural inputs and farm equipment.
Ms. Jayalalithaa said the government would also set up service centres in 385 places to hire equipment for farmers, and for servicing and repairing equipment. To help farmers preserve perishable commodities and ensure availability of quality agricultural produce, the government, aided by various departments, the private sector and farmers’ groups, would set up a processing industry for agricultural produce at a cost of Rs. 25 crore. This would benefit farmers in Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Perambalur, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tuticorin, Tiruvannamalai, Virudhunagar and Salem districts.
The cultivation of red gram pulses would be turned into a movement to achieve self-sufficiency, and farmers clusters would be consolidated, the Chief Minister said. The State would directly procure the red gram pulses from the farmers at a reasonable price, and the scheme would be implemented at a cost of Rs. 55.15 crore.
Centres of excellenceTo meet the challenges in agriculture, Ms. Jayalalithaa said the government would set up six centres of excellence in various areas. These included a centre of excellence in molecular breeding in Coimbatore, a dry/rain-fed crops centre of excellence at Chettinad in Sivaganga, a soil health centre in Tiruchi, a centre of excellence in innovation in Madurai, a farm women skill development centre of excellence in Tiruchi and a centre of excellence in oil farm at Pattukottai, all at a cost of Rs 28 crore.
To help enhance agricultural skills, a centre for agricultural skill development would be set up at a cost of Rs. 20 crore to conduct a one-year certificate course in agriculture to 10,000 rural youths over 10 years.
The Chief Minister said that to ensure remunerative prices for agricultural produce and stock up on products in the absence of viable prices, regulated market committees would be set up in the Naidumangalam and Kalasapakkam blocks of Thiruvannamalai district and the Thirunavalur block of Villuppuram district. The State would help to install 100 solar-powered driers in the current year for processing agricultural produce.
