Agriculture Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam said the State government is making special efforts to get a fair price for farmers for their produce and would implement various schemes to enhance their income.
He was delivering a special address at the Conference on Cold Chain Technologies organised as a part of Confederation of Indian Industry Foodpro 2022 in Chennai on Saturday.
Mr. Panneerselvam said there was an increase in the total cultivated area in Tamil Nadu from 60 to 75% or 116.63 lakh acres of cultivable land. He said the Agriculture Department plans to introduce “Tamil Man Valam” a portal to facilitate the farmers to know the soil fertility status of their cultivable land and obtain Soil Health Card and implement schemes for paddy, millet, pulses and oilseeds to increase the food grain production.
T.M. Anbarasan, Minister for MSME, said in order to promote Food Processing, 227 food processing units in Tamil Nadu were given incentives worth ₹ 28.18 crore and ₹ 112.72 crore worth of loans were sanctioned last year alone.
C. Samayamoorthy, Agriculture Secretary and Production Commissioner, pointed out that a separate Food Processing and Agri Exports Department would be set up by the government to help enhance the growth of agri exports from the State.
