Farmers asked the authorities to assist more farmers during the monthly grievance meeting held on Friday after a decline in beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) in 2022.
All India Kisan Sabha district president N. Perumal reported that 46.8 lakh farmers benefited from the scheme in 2019. (Farmer families receive Rs 6,000 in three installments of Rs 2,000 every year.)
He stated that "after the distribution of the 11th installment of cash, the numbers of beneficiaries dropped drastically to 23.04 farmers in 2022" and added that not enough people were aware of the situation. They need to raise awareness, contact them, and have more camps to increase the number."
Meanwhile, a few farmers emphasized the lack of water in the villages close to Natham and Sanarpatti. Lakshmana Perumal stated, "Despite recent significant rain, the water bodies in these villages were not full, although Palani and other areas of the district had an adequate supply. We need a mechanism to redirect and control excess water in our areas."
Farmers have been struggling for the past few years without enough laborers due to the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, according to Rajendran of Pappampatti near Palani. The government needs to make provisions for these workers to work in agriculture. Additionally, he demanded that the government focus on making sure farmers were paid for the organic manure created at the Oddanchatram panchayat's compost yard.
Although the government claimed that the district had about 1,900 tonnes of fertilizer, several primary agricultural cooperative societies in Dindigul did not have adequate access to fertilizer. The government should also ensure that urea and potassium are available.
The district administration was urged by a small group of farmers to establish a direct purchase center at the Pillaiyarnatham panchayat in the Nilakottai taluk. P. Muthumariappan from Sirunaickenpatti stated that paddy was cultivated on more than 1,200 acres of land in these villages so a DPC would be useful.
Farmers and other locals urged the Collector to fix the Sangaliyan Temple's damaged shutters in Anjukulipatti, Sanarpatti block. After a field visit, the Collector promised that a decision will be made.
