Tamil Nadu presents Separate Budget for Agriculture

Tamil Nadu legislative assembly presented a separate budget for Agriculture for the first time in the history of the assembly. Budget was presented by Tamil Nadu Minister for Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare. MRK Pannerselvam on August 13, 2021.

Highlights

• Minister dedicated the budget to farmers who are protesting at New Delhi against the three farm laws.
• Budget was drafted after conducting discussions with farmers and representatives of farmers associations from 18 districts.

About the Budget

• Government allocated Rs 34,220.65 crores for Agriculture and allied sectors including Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Revenue, Fisheries, Agricultural Engineering, Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Rural development and Panchayat Raj.
• During the last budget, government had allocated Rs 11,894.48 for these sectors.
• Kalaignar’s Anaithu Grama Oruginaintha Velan Valarchi Thittam’: Government have planned to implement this project in the span of next five years to ensure all villages of Tamil Nadu could attain overall development and self-sufficiency in agriculture.
• Budget highlights, there are 12,524 village panchayats in Tamil Nadu and this scheme will be implemented in one-fifth of the village panchayats each year.
• This year, scheme will be implemented in 2,500 village panchayats in the year 2021.
• Government has also decided to convert 11.75 lakh hectares of fallow lands into farmland in 10 years in order to increase the area of cultivation from 60 to 75 per cent.
• Double-cropped area will be increased to 20 lakh hectares from one lakh hectare. Area will be increased by establishing new water resources and developing micro-irrigation clusters
• Rs 573.24 crores were allocated to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.
• Separate wing for organic farming will also be created under the Agriculture Department. Farmers will be encouraged by means of subsidy for adopting organic farming method.

Rural Youth Agricultural Skill Development Mission

This mission will be launched to motivate educated youth in order to take up agriculture to next level at their native places. 2500 youth will be trained in the first phase in areas of grafting, operating horticulture, layering etc. Rs 5 crores have been allocated for this scheme.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2021