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The ‘Tamil Nadu Agroforestry Policy’ will be released shortly to enable farmers to cultivate high-value trees such as teak, sandalwood, red sanders, and mahogany without apprehension. The policy provides for relaxation of rules on felling and transportation of felled trees, provision of necessary assistance for planting and maintenance, and formulation and implementation of schemes to promote Agroforestry, announced State Minister for Agriculture-Farmers Welfare, MRK Paneerselvam, in the Agriculture Interim Budget 2026-27.
With the aim of increasing the production and consumption of millets, which significantly contribute to people’s well-being, the Tamil Nadu Millet Mission is being implemented as a five-year scheme from 2023-24. So far, 12.84 lakh farmers have benefited, with an expenditure of Rs. 178 crore. Millets are cultivated on 20 lakh acres. In addition, cluster demonstrations have been laid out over 3.36 lakh acres, and 90 millet value-addition centres have been established, he said.
To ensure timely farming operations and to address the shortage of agricultural labourers, a total of 77,499 agricultural machineries and implements have been provided to farmers. Further, 1,320 Custom Hiring Centres have also been established. A total subsidy of Rs. 783 crore has been sanctioned in the past five years. It is pertinent to note that only 29,945 machineries and implements were provided to farmers in the preceding five years, he said.
To ensure an uninterrupted irrigation power supply through renewable energy, 4,150 solar-powered pumpsets have been installed, with a subsidy of ₹83 crore. Further, 5,954 new electric motor pumpsets have been provided with a subsidy of ₹7.67 crore.
The minister said that 2 lakh new free electricity connections have been provided to farmers over the past five years. The Government has also sanctioned ₹33,904 crore towards meeting the cost of providing free electricity to 23.86 lakh agricultural service connections.
eNAM
In the past five years, an additional 150 Regulated Markets have been integrated with the e-National Agriculture Market (eNAM). Around 30 lakh metric tonnes of agricultural produce, valued at Rs 8,748 crore, have been transacted through this platform, benefiting 18 lakh farmers. Also, the eNAM trade, which was at 1.8 lakh MT in 2020-21, has now been increased to 8 lakh MT due to the Government’s serious efforts.
In the past five years, new cold storage facilities with a capacity of 1,000 MT each have been established at Panruti and Oddanchathiram. Five cold storage units with a total capacity of 1,750 MT have been established for storing vegetables and fruits in Erode district. These facilities are currently being utilised by farmers, traders, entrepreneurs, and Farmer-Producer Organisations (FPOs).
Additionally, cold storage units with a total capacity of 600 MT are being established at Thondamuthur, Ilayankudi, Thisayanvilai and Naidumangalam. An outlay of Rs. 27 crore has been made for cold storages alone, he said.
GI tags
Over the past five years, steps have been taken to obtain Geographical Indication (GI) tags for the State’s unique agricultural products. So far, applications have been filed for 41 products. Out of these, nine products, viz., Chozhavandan Betel Leaf, Panruti Jackfruit, Panruti Cashew, Virudhunagar Samba Vathal, Ramanathapuram Chithiraikar Rice, Puliyangudi Lemon, Chettikulam Small Onion, Thooyamalli Rice and Kavundapadi Country Jaggery, have been granted GI tags. Efforts are underway to obtain GI recognition for the remaining 32 products.
Published on February 17, 2026
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