Uniform crop insurance among farmers' demands in agri budget

Madurai: The state govt should come out with a uniform crop insurance for Tamil Nadu, allocate funds for desilting, prepare good water management schemes and take steps to cull wild boars which have been wreaking havoc in farms. These were some of the demands put up by farmers from southern districts and Pudukottai who attended a meeting convened by speaker M Appavu and municipal administration minister K N Nehru at the Tirunelveli collector office on Thursday ahead of the state agriculture budget.

Nehru told the farmers that the chief minister had launched the separate agriculture budget to focus exclusively on farming and farmers. The govt collects valuable feedback from farmers and creates schemes to benefit the sector, he said. He assured the farmers that all their demands and opinions would be conveyed to the CM and necessary measures taken to address their concerns.

The farmers also demanded that the govt provide quality seeds and agriculture inputs based on seasons. They flagged problems in getting proper crop insurance and urged the govt to come out with a uniform crop insurance for Tamil Nadu. Farmers from Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Tuticorin, Tenkasi, Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, Karur, Sivaganga, Madurai, Theni, Dindigul and Pudukottai attended the meeting. Senior officials from agriculture and allied departments as well as MPs and MLAs attended the meeting.