Nilgiris Farmers Welcome Organic Farming, Millet Schemes in TN Agri Budget
Farmers and tribal leaders hail provisions for organic farming, minor millets, traditional cattle breeds and wildlife damage prevention in Tamil Nadu's Agriculture Budget 2026-27.
The TN agriculture budget 2026-27, presented by agriculture minister R. Vinoth on Thursday, brought cheer to the hill farmers and tribes as quite a few schemes to cover the Nilgiris found their way into the budget.
Commending the maiden agriculture budget of the TVK-led government, Manjai V. Mohan, president of the Nilgiris Ari Gowder Farmers Association, an umbrella organisation of various farmers associations in the Nilgiris, said while the government had been taking efforts to promote organic farming in the Nilgiris in a big way, the schemes envisaged in the budget to further encourage and promote organic farming were welcome.
The provision made for establishing vermicompost units, organic certification process and related schemes will give confidence for the farmers to switch to organic farming, he noted.
“Likewise, the Tamil Nadu minor millet mission to encourage cultivation of millets such as little millet, foxtail millet and kodo millet will help the hill farmers revert to millet cultivation in a big way. The wild boar damage prevention scheme is expected to do a world of good to the hill farmers who had been seeking government support to end the boar-farmer conflict. The scheme to introduce new fruit varieties at the pomological station in Coonoor in the Nilgiris will be a bonanza, as also the schemes envisaged to encourage medicinal herbs cultivation as the agro-climatic conditions in the Nilgiris are highly conducive for growing medicinal herbs. The initiative to establish an agricultural technology research station in Ooty is expected to promote chemical-free and sustainable farming practices. Above all, the government should ensure better marketing of Nilgiri farm produce for glitch-free income flow,” Mohan added.
K.M. Alwas, prominent Toda tribal leader and secretary of the Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association, said the scheme announced for revival of traditional cattle breeds that includes Toda buffaloes, is really a laudable scheme. This will rekindle interest among the tribes in rearing traditional cattle breed. Likewise, schemes to distribute silver oak tree saplings to be planted in tribal lands will help agro-forestry activities, paving the way for income generation, he pointed out.
