Announcing a slew of promises to protect agriculture and the interests of farmers, the DMK on Saturday said it would adopt a resolution in the Tamil Nadu Assembly urging the Centre to withdraw all three farm laws. It would present a separate agriculture budget as well.
“It is a matter of shock that the Centre has failed to meet the farmers who have been protesting against the legislation for over 100 days. The DMK will also repeal the law on contract farming enacted by the AIADMK government,” said the manifesto released by party president M.K. Stalin.
Expressing its commitment to protecting the Cauvery delta region that has been declared a protected agricultural zone, the manifesto said it would prevent any move by the Centre to implement the coal bed methane project and the shale gas project.
The manifesto said the party would present a separate budget for agriculture. “It will be presented after consulting farmers’ associations and others to improve productivity,” it said.
Farmers’ markets
The DMK also announced its plan to set up farmers’ markets to eliminate middlemen. As per the proposal, all crops and farm products produced in rural areas would be sold in those farmers’ markets.
A separate section would be established in the Agriculture Department to promote organic farming, it said. A research centre for organic farming, to be named after the late G. Nammalwar, an organic farming scientist and crusader, would also be established, the manifesto said. Subsidy for inputs would be provided to farmers involved in organic farming.
The party said it would sell jaggery and palm sugar through ration shops, apart from supplying black gram and 1 extra kg of sugar.
“The minimum supportive price [MSP] for paddy will be increased from ₹2,000 to ₹2,500 per quintal and ₹4,000 for sugarcane per tonne,” it said.
The manifesto also promised to regulate shrimp farms to prevent damage to farmlands.