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As the Tamil Nadu government is preparing to present a separate Budget for the agriculture sector, Agrofood Chamber of Commerce and Industry has submitted a host of suggestions to improve farm productivity, farmer’s revenue, motivate youth to take up agriculture and grow the export of agro products from the State.
As a major step, farmers should be enlightened with the crops and products which would fetch more revenue, said S Rethinavel, President, Agrofood Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a memorandum presented to the state government. The acreage of Moringa (drumstick) cultivation should be increased in Tamil Nadu by declaring seven districts - Theni, Dindigul, Karur, Tuticorin, Tiruppur, Ariyalur and Madurai — as Moringa Export Zones and enter into export of value-added products of Moringa, said the memorandum.
‘Encourage dairy farming’
The State government should also encourage dairy farming, which is profitable for farmers and improves village economy. The 200 lakh litres of milk per day produced in the State help farmers in daily revenue. More production of milk will also attract dairy processing units in the state.
The Agro Chamber also suggested setting up of a Pulses Board as Tamil Nadu is a major consumer of pulses which are imported from the northern States and abroad. “We should take steps to cultivate all varieties of pulses in the State itself. To encourage this, a Pulses Board could be established in Tamil Nadu on the lines of such entities for cardamom, coffee and spices.
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Suggestions
It also suggested setting up of Agri-IT-data centre in every district to track crop and output data for the benefit of farmers; introduction of ridgeless cultivation; revival of farmers’ markets, where small farmers could sell their fresh stocks directly to consumers, which would be a win-win situation for both, establishment of well-equipped market committees to avoid wastages; natural calamity crop insurance scheme for farmers and acceleration of river linkage projects in the State.
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