Coimbatore: Agriculture and animal husbandry minister R Doraikkannu on Friday unveiled the government’s plan to distribute Rs 100.42 crore to 2,000 farmers producers groups under the integrated co-operative farming scheme this year. He said state government disbursed 98.4 crore to 1,985 such groups in 2017-18.
The minister was in the city to attend the inaugural session of Agri Intex 2018 at the Codissia Trade Fair Comlpex.
“We have allotted Rs 982.18 crore for implementing micro-irrigation scheme in the state. Another Rs 115.67 crore has been allotted for Kuruvai cultivation,” Doraikkannu said enumerating the schemes adopted by the state to help farmers.
“In 2017-18, subsidy worth Rs 38.60 crore was given to farmers to buy 6,034 equipment. In 2018-19, it has been increased to Rs 144 crore,” he said.
The government has launched a roof-top gardening scheme to help urban dwellers grow their own vegetables, the minister said. Through the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, the state has facilitated insurance coverage to the tune of Rs 3,450 crore to farmers in Tamil Nadu, the highest among other states, he added.
The fair showcases modern farm technology and would help farmers have a look at diverse farm equipment under a single roof, minister for municipal administration and rural development SP Velumani said. “It also has model farms to help farmers understand the methods easily,” he said. The government has taken up feasibility study for Anaimalai-Nallaru scheme, Velumani added.
Earlier, welcoming the gathering, Codissia president M Ramanurthy said the industrial park being constructed by Codissia would be inaugurated soon.
The 18th edition of the agri fair has a total of 450 stalls. Besides agricultural equipment manufacturers from India, those from Italy, Israel, Japan, China and Germany have set up stalls at the fair.
