Presented in the Assembly on Thursday, the Budget steers clear of any target to increase the State's paddy cultivation area or production, a notable departure from the previous Agriculture Budget, which had consistently projected higher paddy acreage, foodgrain output and procurement as the cornerstone of the State's agricultural policy. Instead, the government has rolled out a series of new missions aimed at boosting pulses, oilseeds, cotton and millets, while pitching soil health and technology-driven farming as the next phase of agricultural growth.

In contrast, the DMK government's Interim Agriculture Budget highlighted the expansion of Kuruvai cultivation by nearly three lakh acres, enhanced procurement incentives for paddy and sugarcane, higher foodgrain production and continued investments in irrigation infrastructure. Paddy occupied the centre stage, with the government showcasing both acreage expansion and higher procurement prices as indicators of its agricultural strategy.

The TVK government, however, has adopted a different approach. Its maiden Agriculture Budget lays out ambitious five-year missions for soil fertility, pulses, edible oilseeds, cotton and minor millets, besides introducing Artificial Intelligence-based advisory services and continuing free power, crop insurance and irrigation initiatives. It has also set an overall target of raising foodgrain production over the next five years, but without spelling out a corresponding strategy to expand paddy cultivation, the State's staple crop.

The omission assumes significance against the backdrop of a steady decline in paddy acreage in several parts of Tamil Nadu due to rising cultivation costs, labour shortages and changing climatic conditions. Farmer organisations have repeatedly urged successive governments to arrest the decline through higher procurement prices and stronger policy support.