VELLORE: Farmers in Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Vellore, Ranipet, and Tirupattur districts are holding feedback sessions to include various demands made by farmers’ associations in the upcoming TN agriculture budget. However, farmers are concerned that time and topic restrictions may hinder the government’s ability to gather accurate information about the situation on the ground. The sessions start on Saturday.
In a bid to avoid unnecessary trouble, agriculture department officials coach farmers’ association representatives what to speak on and what to avoid in a bid to avoid embarrassing the agriculture minister, sources said.
“We have to be ready to overcome such hurdles in such meetings if the government is to really understand the situation on the ground and if agriculture is to be a venture welcomed by the youth,” says Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam state general secretary S Udayakumar.
Citing the example of an earlier sitting in the presence of the agriculture minister he said “I demanded that TN farmers also be given the 20 per cent production subsidy as was followed by neighbouring AP and Telangana states. The minister ordered officials to look into it and an official visited these states to finally inform the minister that my demand was bona fide.”
Officials are also known to ask farmers representatives to speak on a specific topic for “around 3 minutes.”