The Hindu : Govt. keen on farm marketing: Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 22, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Govt. keen on farm marketing: Minister

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE, FEB. 21. The Tamil Nadu Government is keen on promoting agricultural marketing to give farmers a better deal, the Agriculture Minister, P. Annavi, said today.

He was delivering the valedictory address at a high-tech training programme for 1,400 technocrats of agriculture, horticulture and agricultural marketing departments at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) here.

Tamil Nadu had the largest area under flower cultivation among all States. Some exotic varieties of jasmine, which did not grow elsewhere in India, could be exported to the Middle East and South-East Asian countries where there was a demand. The Government had already created facilities in the Nilgiris (Rs. 16 crores) and Krishnagiri district (Rs. 25 crores) for production and export of roses.

Food processing industries were gaining importance because cultivators grew enough fruits and vegetables to meet their needs and export the rest. Still, only two per cent of the output was processed, compared to the world average of 40 per cent.

The Special Commissioner and Director of Agriculture, M. A. Gowrishankar, highlighted the need for crop rotation to improve productivity, and judicious use of water resources. A `farmer-centric' approach was vital for development.

The Vice-Chancellor, C. Ramasamy, said modern farming depended greatly on soil management and speedy dissemination of information on crops and growing conditions.

There were plans to inter-connect the university with outlying research centres for speedy communication of information on seed stock, soil nutrients, fertilizer prices and availability of farm inputs.

The Minister for Animal Husbandry, P. V. Damodaran, suggested that the university conduct courses in rearing farm animals.

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