CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Vivasaigal Sangam general secretary Sami Natarajan on Monday called on the Revenue Department to conduct digital crop cultivation surveys instead of enlisting agricultural college students for the task.
In a statement, he noted that in 2023, the Union Government announced the intention to compile information on agricultural land characteristics, types of crops
cultivated, area under cultivation, yield, farmers' income, crop insurance, and credit.
This data is to be converted into a digital system for formulating integrated agricultural development plans across all states in the country.
Natarajan criticised the State government for using inexperienced agricultural college students to carry out these surveys, especially since similar work has already been completed in many other states.
He argued that it is inappropriate to rope in students who lack prior experience to engage in these activities, that too for a strenuous job for 22 days.
Instead, he suggested that officials from the State Revenue Department, Agriculture Department, and Statistics Department should be involved to ensure accurate data collection.
He further emphasised that the village administrative officer is typically the only person in each revenue village who knows the total land area, how much of it is cultivated, and which crops are being grown. Therefore, these officers are best positioned to compile the information requested by the Union Government accurately.
Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami flays DMK govt
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday hit out at the DMK government for engaging agriculture college students in the survey.
The state government has been engaging agriculture students, it is wrong, he said.
"The students are facing numerous problems. They have also been unable to focus on their studies and are under immense stress," he added.
The AIADMK general secretary demanded that the government engage Revenue Department officials to conduct the survey and also provide them with incentives.