Chennai

Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister R Vinoth on Thursday presented the agriculture budget with a total outlay of Rs 58,374 crore and said that 12 districts are likely to be affected more due to the super El Nino event and that an action plan is in place to tackle it.

Presenting the TVK regime's first agriculture budget, Vinoth said it has been prepared following consultations with stakeholders and farm schemes in vogue will continue to be implemented in addition to new initiatives.

Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay lauded both Finance Minister N Marie Wilson and Vinoth for presenting the revised estimates for 2026-27 within three months of TVK assuming office.

Vijay said the agri budget has been prepared in a way ensuring the livelihood and welfare of farmers.

"Let our victory march towards a prosperous Tamil Nadu continue," he said in a social media post.

Main opposition DMK slammed the budget saying it lacked anything for the farmers, and kept up its attack on the government over the Cauvery issue. The AIADMK also criticised the budget.

Vinoth said that during 2026-27, crop loan to the tune of Rs 17,000 crore will be provided to meet the short-term agricultural credit requirements for crop cultivation in Tamil Nadu, he said.

In order to waive the crop loan of eligible farmers in year 2026, Rs 100 crore as first instalment, Rs 3,000 crore as second instalment, Rs 1,820 crore as third instalment and Rs 347 crore as fourth instalment totalling Rs 5,267 crore has been disbursed by the government.

To meet the short-term credit requirements of farmers to take up agriculture related activities including beekeeping, working capital loan of Rs 3,000 crore will be provided, the minister announced.

On the super El Niño event, Vinoth said that efforts have been stepped up to tackle it in the state by implementing Tamil Nadu Agricultural University's action plan.

The minister said that due to this phenomenon, severe impact is anticipated across the country, particularly during the Kuruvai (short-term) season (June-July-early August).

"It has been predicted that 12 districts in Tamil Nadu will experience a severe impact. Hence, the District Agricultural Contingency Plan prepared by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University for all districts have been communicated to the district collectors, and all steps have been taken up to implement the contingency measures holistically," he said.

To combat the impact of climatic changes, farmers will be encouraged to obtain additional income through carbon trading for which an amount of Rs 60 lakh will be allocated from the state fund to conduct demonstrations in 2,000 acres and develop monitoring and verification protocols.

This is applicable to ryots adopting Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) method of irrigation and using application of slow-release fertilisers thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions by about 50 per cent and promoting carbon sequestration in soils.

The minister said that the "Tamil Nadu Soil Fertility Mission" will be launched as a five-year plan at an estimated outlay of Rs 600 crore, to ensure that future generations inherit fertile Tamil soils.

This will be done by resorting to activities like increasing the population of soil microorganisms, reclaiming alkaline & saline soils, reducing the use of chemical fertilisers, and encouraging natural and organic farming practices.

During 2026-27, the Tamil Nadu Soil Fertility Mission will be implemented with 10 components at a total outlay of Rs 122.51 crore.

Mission for self-sufficiency in pulses and edible oilseeds will be implemented with a total outlay of Rs 203.64 crore (over five years) out of which Rs 65.28 crore will be allocated for pulses and Rs 138.36 crore for edible oilseeds, from the union and state government funds. Further, the minister said the TN millet mission will be implemented at a total outlay of Rs.63.81 crore during 2026-27.

To enhance cotton production, the "Cotton renaissance mission" will be launched as a five-year mission from 2026–27. It will be implemented during 2026–27 over 73,360 acres of land at a total outlay of Rs 27.21 crore benefitting 40,000 cotton farmers.

In order to enable farmers to access all schemes and technical advisory services of the Agriculture - Farmers Welfare Department under one roof, eight new buildings for Integrated Agricultural Extension Centres, each with a 300-metric tonne capacity godown, will be constructed in Tiruvannamalai, Katpadi and Gudiyatham (both Vellore), Musiri (Tiruchirappalli), Narikudi (Virudhunagar), Bodinayakanur (Theni), Kayathar (Thoothukudi) and Thondamuthur (Coimbatore).

These centres will be established at a total outlay of Rs 27.82 crore from the union and state government funds, he said.

In response to the long-standing demand of the farming community, tarpaulins will be distributed to 43,500 farmers during 2026–27 to prevent post-harvest loss and facilitate drying and safe storage of agricultural produce from rain and shine. A sum of Rs 10 crore will be allocated from the State fund for this scheme.

An allocation of Rs 785 crore, benefitting 95,000 farmers under a micro irrigation scheme, a sum of Rs 122.51 crore towards TN soil fertility mission (for 2026-27), and Rs 63.81 crore (also for 2026-27) for millet mission was among the allocations made in the budget.

An outlay of Rs 227.20 crore for agricultural mechanisation scheme (covers distribution of farm machinery and implements to farmers with subsidy) also finds a place in the allocations.

The minister began his address by lauding the chief minister as a "suit wearing farmer" and when he went on to shower more praise on Vijay, main opposition DMK raised objection.

Speaker JCD Prabhakar intervened and asked the opposition members to be calm and told the minister to stick to the agri-budget.

Responding to the budget, DMK dubbed it as an "absolute nothing." Udhayadnidhi charged chief minister Vijay with "betraying" farmers and failing to deliver on key election promises.

He also slammed the government over not convening an all-party meeting on the Cauvery row.

Led by the DMK youth wing leader, the opposition party MLAs arrived at the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly wearing black shirts to mark their protest against the state government's alleged "inaction" regarding farm loan waivers and the escalating Mekedatu dam crisis.

Addressing reporters outside the Assembly, Udhayanidhi hit back at the administration for "merely rebranding" existing schemes while failing to address core issues facing the agrarian community.

"Absolutely nothing," he said about the agri budget.

"We have been consistently calling for an all-party meeting on the Cauvery and Mekedatu issues. We need to demonstrate that all political parties in Tamil Nadu stand united on this front. But as usual, the chief minister remains silent and refuses to respond," Udhayanidhi said.

Criticising the government’s unfulfilled poll pledges, the opposition leader highlighted that despite promising complete crop loan waivers for farmers holding up to five acres, the state had repeatedly defaulted on its word.

Udhayanidhi noted that while the initial waiver cap was announced at Rs 50,000 and later revised to Rs 75,000 following intense demand from farmers, farmers continue to demand the total waiver originally promised.

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The interim agri budget for 2026-27, presented by the DMK government in February this year, had an outlay of Rs 47,248 crore.