Food & Beverage News: Top Stories - TN govt prepares roadmap to enhance agricultural output

The Tamil Nadu government has prepared a series of major initiatives including adoption of a system of rice intensification technology to enhance agricultural production in the state during 2009-2010. "The state government would take steps to bring 7.5 lakh hectares under the rice intensification system during 2009-2010 and more attention will be given for perfect adoption of this technology to achieve higher production in paddy," VS Arumugam, agriculture minister, said in the state Assembly in Chennai.

According to the policy note presented by the agriculture minister, steps would be taken to conduct demonstrations of rice intensification system, to cover around 50,000 hectares through various schemes. The government has also fixed a target of 60.50 lakh hectare for crop coverage and production during the period.

Further, the state government has planned to procure about 18,000 tonnes of paddy seeds, 6,386 tonnes of oil seeds 2,500 tonnes of pulses and 450 tonnes of millets and 175 tonnes of cotton seeds, which would be distributed to the farmers in the current fiscal. "The long felt demand of the agricultural graduates has been accepted by the government and at all India level. Tamil Nadu is the first state establishing an Agri Council. A draft will be placed in the Assembly for approval," the policy note said.

The Agri Council would provide necessary recommendation for the agriculture development, besides it will play a major role in providing quality inputs, technologies, post-harvest management, marketing and processing activities.