The Tamil Nadu Government is to launch 30 clusters this year under the Centrally-funded Accelerated Pulses Production Programme. With farm holdings too small, the state government has adopted the cluster approach for the operational convenience of small and medium farmers.
“The cluster approach is a good way of bringing farmers under one group. The pilot study we conducted proved successful. The move to set up clusters will help reduce Tamil Nadu’s dependence on other states for pulses,” P Rama Mohana Rao, principal secretary (agriculture) and agriculture production commissioner of the state, had said at a recent conference on exports of agricultural products in Chennai. The pilot project was taken up to help small and medium farmers in Thirupattur in Vellore district a year ago. Seventy per cent of Tamil Nadu’s requirement of pulses is currently bought from other states, and the aim of the project is to boost the state’s pulses output. The government will provide Rs 3,000 per hectare as a subsidy to farmers participating in the project.
Each cluster will measure about 1,000 hectares and will focus on cultivation of pulses such as red gram and black gram. The initiative will be modelled on the successful pulses production cluster at Pudukottai, where red gram cultivated by farmers is being procured at attractive rates by the Tata Group under its ‘MoPu’ (More Pulses) programme.
In order to boost Tamil Nadu’s export of agricultural products, the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has identified three or four clusters in consultation with the state’s horticulture department, keeping in view the potential for vegetable production in the state. These clusters are Ottanchatiram, Coimbatore, Tindivanam and Ooty.
One of the successful models adopted by the state government to help small and marginal farmers is ‘Uzhavar Sandhais’ or ‘farmers markets’, according to Atul Anand, commissioner, agricultural marketing, in the Tamil Nadu government.
These markets ensure a fair price for the farmer’s produce, while enabling consumers to get fresh fruits and vegetables at a cheaper price. At present 153 such markets are functioning in the state. On an average 2,348 tonnes of fruits and vegetables worth Rs 3.34 crore are sold by 9,360 farmers and 4.17 lakh consumers benefit daily.
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To prevent the deterioration of unsold fruit and vegetables, cold storages with a capacity of two tonnes each have been established in 22 Uzhavar Sandhais. Another model that has been adopted for the benefit of small farmers is the Small Farmers’ Agri Business Consortium (SFAC), which started operation in 2005 in association with the nationalised banks, including State Bank of India and its subsidiary banks.
The main objective is to link small farmers to technologies and enable them to market their produce in association with the private, corporate and co-operative sectors, by providing them with forward and backward linkages.
SFAC provides venture capital assistance – amounting to 10 per cent of the project cost or 26 per cent of the promoter’s equity or Rs 75 lakh, whichever is less – to projects that process high-value crops. Such projects are required to procure raw material directly from farmers. This assistance is to be repaid after repayment of bank term loans.
In 2008-09 and 2009-10, a total of 10 projects were recommended, Rs 196 lakh was sanctioned and 3,498 farmers benefited. So far in the current fiscal, three projects have been recommended, Rs 122.15 lakh was sanctioned and 605 farmers stand to benefit.