’Resham Krishi Mela’ In Coimbatore

Minister for Rural Industries Pongalur N.Palanisamy (third right) presents a mediclaim card to a woman sericulturist at the ’Resham Krishi Mela’ in Coimbatore on Friday. The Central Silk Board, State Government and ICICI Lombard jointly launched here on Friday a medical insurance scheme for women entrepreneurs and farmers in the sericulture sector. The scheme would benefit 1,370 families in the State this year. Each beneficiary would have to pay just Rs. 55.66 of the Rs. 781.60 annual premium. The Central Silk Board would contribute Rs. 642.47 and the State Government Rs. 83.47.

The annual insurance limit is Rs. 15,000 for each policy holder. The beneficiary or her family members (husband and two children) can make use of the insurance and get cashless outpatient treatment and medicines from 139 doctors. If the doctor approached by the beneficiary was not in the network then she could get the treatment and submit claim forms to avail herself of the benefit, according to Balasubramniam, regional general manager of ICICI Lombard.

Launching the scheme, Pongalur N. Palanisamy, Minister for Rural Industries and Animal Husbandry, said mulberry cultivation was one of the profitable agricultural options in this region. The aim was to raise the current coverage in the State from 25,000 acres to one lakh acre. Earlier, marketing cocoon was a problem in the State. Now, the State Government was promoting establishment of reeling units so that farmers could sell the cocoon to the units within the State.

Farmers should also try to achieve higher productivity. The State Government had suggested to the Centre to fix Rs. 200 as minimum support price for 1 kg of cocoon (white cocoon). The country had all the resources to promote sericulture and the Centre should promote bivoltine silk so that imports could stop. One automatic reeling unit was established in the State last year and one more would be set up this year. In the last two years, the State Government disbursed Rs. 36.5 crore assistance to mulberry farmers.

Vishwanath Shegaonkar, Secretary, Handlooms, Handicrafts, Textiles and Khadi Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, said with State and Central Government assistance programmes, silk production had increased substantially in the State in the last two years. About 30,000 farmers in the State would get Rs. 20 crore as annual assistance this year.

The annual raw silk production was 1,500 tonnes. Commissioner of Sericulture Harmandar Singh said the three main challenges for the sector in the State were: labour shortage, high initial investment and fluctuation in cocoon prices. The Directorate was taking various steps to improve mechanisation and help farmers face the labour shortage. Assistance was being given for various sericulture activities.

Tamil Nadu farmers were exemplary as 25 per cent of silk production in the State was bivoltine and cluster programmes were being taken up to promote it. e asked farmers to make use of the soil testing facilities at the Directorate. Farmers should aim for higher productivity too. District Collector V. Palanikumar said Coimbatore, Erode and Salem were the main sericulture hubs in the State. Focus was needed on marketing and farmers should try to bring down the production cost. They should also know the requirements of the customers, he said.

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