Progress Reviewed
State Agriculture Secretary Surjith K. Choudhary (second right) speaking at a meeting on Monday to review the progress in implementation of schemes. Agriculture Commissioner S. Kosalaraman (right), District Collector V. Palanikumar (second left) and Agricultural Marketing Director, Atul Anand (left) are in the picture. Secretary to Government for Agriculture, Surjith K. Choudhary on Monday asked officials of the Agriculture Department and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to ensure that seeds supplied to farmers are of good quality. He was speaking at a meeting on Monday convened to review the performance and progress of various government schemes implemented under the National Agricultural Development, Agricultural Marketing, Seed Certification, Horticulture and Agricultural Engineering department. He said focus should be on precision farming and agriculture centres. Mr. Choudhary was informed by the officials that efforts were on to set up precision farming in 500 acres.
For unemployed agricultural graduates, Government was spending up to Rs. 6 lakhs for procurement of agricultural gadgets and implements of which Government subsidy was close to Rs. 3 lakhs. Mr.Choudhary also sought expeditious implementation of the project for providing all agriculture services under one roof in all the 20 agriculture blocks in the district. Seed Certification department was asked to expedite the work of setting up seed farms. Commissioner for Agriculture, S. Kosalaraman, Agricultural Marketing Department Director, Atul Anand and District Collector, V. Palanikumar attended the meeting.
Mr.Surjith Choudhary said that in a bid to make agriculture a profitable venture, various steps were being taken. The proposed agricultural advisory and service centre in all the 385 blocks in the State at a cost of Rs. 33 crore would help in rendering services such as offering agriculture expertise, farm mechanisation service centres, seed purification centres, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation equipments and seed certification and agricultural inputs all under one roof. Scientific practicing of agriculture would help in ensuring revenue besides generating employment opportunities for rural youth. The rule that only agriculture graduates should set up service centres had been completely relaxed.
Those who had completed a diploma or a graduation course in agriculture, retired agriculture scientists, professors, agriculture experts could start such service centres. On setting up the service centre, based on the application from the entrepreneur Rs. 3 lakhs was being provided as subsidy. People who invest on farm mechanisation gadgets such as tractor, power tiller, land levelling equipments, ploughing machines, seed sowing machines and harvesting equipments to a tune of Rs. 16 lakhs would get Rs. 4 lakhs as subsidy.
Depending on the investment, the subsidy could go up to Rs 7.5 lakhs. Those setting up all the three service centres would get priority and licence for selling irrigation equipments, fertilisers, pesticides and certified seeds. The objective of the scheme was to ensure availability of all agriculture services under one roof.
