CHENNAI: With drought fears looming over the State amid El Niño conditions and poor water availability, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday concluded the final round of consultations for the Agriculture Budget 2026-27, with farmer organisations seeking immediate drought relief, remunerative prices, stronger irrigation measures and a firm legal stand against Karnataka’s proposed Mekedatu dam.
The consultation, organised by the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department at the Anna Centenary library here, was attended by Agriculture Minister R Vinoth, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister K A Sengottaiyan, Water Resources Minister N Anand, Food and Civil Supplies Minister P Venkataramanan and several other ministers, along with senior bureaucrats, agricultural scientists, farmer producer organisations and representatives from allied sectors.
Addressing the gathering, Vinoth said the Chennai meeting marked the culmination of an extensive State-wide consultation process. Four regional consultations had already been held and suggestions received from all 38 districts had been compiled and submitted to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
“The Agriculture Budget will reflect the needs of every region. Irrigation, soil and water conservation, natural farming, crop insurance, marketing, livestock, fisheries, dairy development and agri-based industries will receive special attention,” he said.
The minister said the government had set a foodgrain production target of 131.36 lakh metric tonnes for 2026-27 and was pursuing measures such as expanding the cultivated area, promoting mechanisation and encouraging modern farming technologies to achieve the goal.
He also highlighted the Rs 134.83 crore Kuruvai Special Package announced for delta and non-delta districts and said crop loans worth nearly Rs 6,000 crore had been waived for 14.43 lakh farmers despite the State’s financial constraints.
Warning that El Niño and low storage in the Mettur dam could affect cultivation, Vinoth urged farmers to enrol in crop insurance at the earliest. “Farmers expect fair prices for their produce, but more importantly, they want their concerns to be heard. The government will also prioritise schemes for women farmers,” he said.
Farmer organisations urged the government to fix procurement prices at Rs 3,500 per quintal for paddy and Rs 4,500 per tonne for sugarcane, constitute district-level price fixation committees for horticultural crops, expand crop loan waivers, restore lakes and tanks, strengthen cold storage infrastructure and bring crop insurance entirely under government administration.
The Mekedatu issue dominated the discussions. Tamil Nadu All Farmers Associations Coordination Committee president P R Pandian urged the government to pursue only legal remedies, arguing that further political negotiations with Karnataka would be inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s position. In contrast, Federation of Cauvery Delta Farmers Association president K V Elankeeran said the Chief Minister should engage directly with his Karnataka counterpart while continuing legal efforts to protect Tamil Nadu’s water rights.
Farmer leaders also sought drought relief for the Cauvery delta, compensation for agricultural labourers and removal of encroachments from water bodies, expressing hope that the consultations would translate into an Agriculture Budget rooted in farmers’ needs rather than remaining a routine fiscal exercise.