Coimbatore: Farmers in Tamil Nadu should make use of the government's drip irrigation schemes to provide adequate water to crops during drought, agricultural production commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi said here on Saturday.
"The state government is providing more than 80 % subsidy to set up drip irrigation systems in agriculture lands," he told a gathering of farmers at the Farmers Day function conducted at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.
"The state government has allotted Rs 803 crore for implementing drip irrigation. The agricultural department is providing Rs 1.13 lakh as subsidy per hectare to set up the system. Farmers will get Rs 83,135 per hectare as subsidy for drip irrigation for banana crop and Rs 97,134 per hectare as subsidy for sugarcane. After the implementation of the goods and service tax, the cost for implementing the system has gone up. However, the state government has promised to bear the cost," he said.
The official also requested sugarcane farmers to use sugarcane sustainable initiatives (SSI) to increase productivity. "The government will provide 50% subsidy for implementing SSI. There are 2,000 farmers groups in the state and the government has allotted Rs 100 crore to implement collective farming. This would help the small and marginal farmers," Bedi said.
Agricultural minister R Duraikannu said the state government has taken enormous steps to help the farmers affected by drought. "The government has launched various projects to achieve the target of 100 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrain production this year," he said.
Deputy assembly speaker Pollachi V Jayaraman said that while farmers in Kongu region are capable of producing more coconuts than their counterparts in Kerala, due to water shortage, coconut farmers are struggling to save their trees. "The state government should implement drip irrigation in the Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) region in Pollachi and Udumalpet. The government should also use Israeli technology for water management. Anaimalai-Nallar scheme should be implemented soon to help the farmers," he demanded.
Municipal administration minister SP Velumani said that coconut oil produced in Kangeyam in Tirupur is not adulterated. "The Kerala health minister's charge is completely false. Farmers here are sending quality vegetables and oil to Kerala," he said.
The event also saw TNAU vice-chancellor K Ramasamy releasing new crop varieties to improve agriculture production. "Scientists at the university have developed eight new crops. The new paddy crop is disease-resistant and would give more yield. The two varieties of sugarcanes can thrive in salty soil and withstand drought," he said.
More than 500 farmers from various parts of the state attended the event.
