TIRUCHY: The state government is initiating steps to distribute coconut and groundnut oils through PDS outlets in order to support the farmers, said Industries Minister TRB Rajaa on Monday.
Speaking to reporters after inaugurating the nodal centre for palmyra farmers in Thanjavur, the Minister said, in order to support Delta farmers, the Chief Minister had developed special programmes and a series of projects are being planned.
“The farmers would turn entrepreneurs after making agricultural products. This would be made possible by encouraging the farmers to concentrate on value added products,” the Minister said.
Stating that the farmers should stop borrowing money for cultivation, Rajaa said, the government has plans to ensure the farmers save their income for future and thus they would stop borrowing money for agricultural activities. “Only when the farmers stop borrowing money from outside, their real development would be witnessed,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister said that the country has been importing 60 per cent of palm oil while the production in the country is just 22 per cent.
“But the state government has been planning to distribute coconut and groundnut oils through PDS outlets to support the farmers from the state particularly from the Delta region,” he said.
He appealed to the Delta farmers to opt for drought resistant crops to overcome water shortage.