Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister Claims Farmers Won’t Seek Loans from Banks in Next 10 years

Tamil Nadu Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam declared in the Assembly on Thursday (24 March 2022) that the goal of the State government's agriculture budget was to ensure that farmers do not take loans from any bank in the next ten years.

Panneerselvam said during the debate on the agriculture budget that the State government has been supporting farmers with the assistance they need.

Farmers realized that the state was listening to them and that their demands were being met, he said.

He described the agriculture budget as a 10-month-old baby.

"A teak will sell for approximately 50,000 to 1 lakh in about 10 years," Panneerselvam said, referring to the distribution of 50 tree saplings to a family. These trees will yield roughly Rs. 25 lakh to a family in ten years."

The AIADMK, according to the Minister, did not have the heart to appreciate the welfare programs for the people and staged a walkout from the House.

Criticizing the party, he claimed that the previous administration had done little for agriculture and that the sugar industry was in dire straits.

According to the Minister, the area covered by 'kuruvai' crop cultivation has expanded by 1.5 lakh acres in the last ten months across the State.

Sugarcane growing would be viable in the next two years, he added.

The minister also told that Agriculture Budget for 2022-23 has increased the allocation for agriculture & allied sectors to Rs. 33,007.68 cr, which is slightly higher than Rs. 32,775.78 cr in the revised estimate for 2021-22.

The state government will take necessary steps to attain 126 lakh MT of foodgrain production in 2022-23, he said.