CHENNAI: A meeting between State ministers and farmers’ representatives on a comprehensive crop loan waiver ended without consensus on Thursday, with one faction calling off its agitation, citing Tamil Nadu’s financial constraints, and another temporarily suspending its protest, dissatisfied with the outcome.
Ministers N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, Vinoth, V Gandhiraj, S Ramesh and M Vijay Balaji attended the meeting at the Secretariat, along with senior officials from the Finance, Cooperation and Agriculture departments.
PR Pandian, president of the Coordination Committee of All Farmers’ Associations of Tamil Nadu, said the ministers had cited the financial burden of a crop loan waiver estimated at around Rs 9,000 crore. Extending the benefit to all members of farming families would entail additional expenditure, he said. Pandian said the ministers had assured farmers’ representatives they would bring their demands to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s attention. Citing the government’s financial constraints, his faction decided to call off its agitation, he added.
However, KV Elankeeran, president of the Federation of Cauvery Delta Farmers Associations, said the discussions had failed to address the farmers’ principal demand for a comprehensive waiver.
He said the existing eligibility conditions left several farmers uncertain about whether they would receive relief. The announced waiver covered crop loans of up to Rs 75,000 obtained between May 1,
As ministers cite fund crunch to deny full crop loan waiver at this moment, only a section of farmers are ready to halt protest
2025, and March 31, 2026, but farmers whose borrowings fell outside this period remained concerned about their eligibility, he said.
Elankeeran demanded that the government waive all crop loans regardless of the borrowing period and urged it to clarify the position of farmers excluded from the existing concessions.
His faction had temporarily suspended its agitation despite its dissatisfaction with the talks’ outcome, he said. He warned that a federation of 50 farmers’ associations would intensify its protests if the government pressured farmers to repay their loans.