Tamil Nadu: Delta farmers welcome incentives, seek paddy MSP promised during polls

TIRUCHY: Delta farmers welcomed the State government’s announcement of increased incentives for paddy and sugarcane, but urged Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to fulfil his poll promise of fixing the price at Rs 3,500 per quintal for paddy and Rs 4,500 per tonne for sugarcane.

Swamimalai Sundara Vimalnathan, secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, said the Rs 709.50-per-tonne hike in the sugarcane incentive was a decent increase and would take the price to Rs 4,000 per tonne. However, the Chief Minister had assured farmers during the election campaign that sugarcane would fetch Rs 4,500 per tonne.

“Though the present price of Rs 4,000 per ton is a comfortable hike, it is applicable to the crushing period that commences from October 2026 to September 30, 2027 and only one lakh sugarcane farmers alone can benefit,” he said.

He appealed to the Chief Minister to ensure Rs 4,500 per tonne for sugarcane from the next crushing period. “The State government has proposed to increase Rs 5,000 crore more through the Tasmac sales, and sugarcane is one of the major raw materials, so the State government should encourage the sugarcane farmers who would support income generation to the State,” he said.

Meanwhile, farmers’ associations affiliated to the CPM and CPI also welcomed the increase in incentives for paddy and sugarcane, but sought a higher incentive for common-variety paddy and the implementation of the promised farm loan waivers.

Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association general secretary Sami Natarajan said the government’s decision to increase the incentive for fine variety paddy from Rs 156 to Rs 289 per quintal would take the procurement price to Rs 2,750, while common variety paddy would fetch Rs 2,600. He said the Centre had increased its paddy price by only Rs 69 over last year.

Natarajan also welcomed the additional Rs 709.50-per-tonne incentive for sugarcane, taking the price to Rs 4,000 per tonne for the 2025-26 crushing season. The Centre has fixed the price at Rs 3,290.50 for sugarcane with 9.5% recovery.

He said the higher incentives came at a time when fertiliser prices had risen sharply and diesel prices had been increased four times in a month, pushing up agricultural production costs. The announcement showed that the TVK government had recognised the difficulties faced by farmers and renewed their confidence that it would fulfil its election promise of providing higher prices for paddy and sugarcane, he said.

CPI-led association general secretary B S Masilamani also welcomed the paddy and sugarcane price increases. He said the association had urged the government during a meeting with eight ministers at the Secretariat on August 7 to announce the higher prices for the current season.

Masilamani also sought immediate implementation of the election promise on farm loan waivers, saying farmers were under pressure from banks to repay loans. With many farmers already facing financial difficulties, the pressure to repay loans was affecting their ability to prepare for the next cultivation season, he said.