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Delay in Central aid painful, says Kerala Agriculture Minister

ALAPPUZHA: Kerala is “deeply hurt” by the delay in financial assistance from the Union government for its rain-hit paddy farmers, Agriculture Minister Mullakara Ratnakaran said here on Sunday.

Talking to reporters after a paddy farmers’ convention organised by the Communist Party of India’s (CPI) farmers’ unit, Kissan Sabha, at Ramankary here, Mr. Ratnakaran said the all-party delegation that met Central Ministers last week had called for immediate help bypassing the usual Central Calamity Relief norms. However, the Centre was going slow. This had caused great pain and hurt to the State, he said. Though the UPA government has been talking about food security ever since it came to power, it does not seem to be bothered about Kerala’s food security. The State government has done everything possible to help farmers overcome the impact of the unexpected summer rains. Unfortunately, the Centre has not responded in a similar way and is delaying even approval of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission’s Kuttanad Package.”

Earlier, inaugurating the convention, Mr. Ratnakaran said the State was planning to provide paddy farmers with agricultural insurance depending on area under cultivation. With a premium of Rs.100 a hectare, the insurance, along with the proposed Green Card that would make registered farmers eligible for interest-free loans, would help the State tide over agrarian crisis to a great extent.

Reminding farmers that the State government was looking at ways to tackle the impact of the unpredictable climatic changes on agricultural sector, the Minister said a revised agricultural calendar, specific to each region, would be prepared during implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s package.

Calling for scientific procuring and processing system for paddy, Mr. Ratnakaran said more rice mills would soon be opened to strengthen the public distribution system. Rice from Kuttanad and Palakkad would be branded, processed and distributed by the government with the help of these mills. Mr. Ratnakaran also said the government would purchase 20 combine harvester machines by next year. A maintenance system would be set up for these machines by training local engineers.

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