Launch of the “Reaching Farmers – Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare” Initiativeby Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru. M.K. Stalin

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru. M.K. Stalin, inaugurated the “Reaching Farmers – Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare” initiative at Thiruvorur Zonal Office, Tiruvarur District, by launching a mobile exhibition van aimed at informing farmers about various agricultural schemes.

This initiative seeks to elevate agriculture as a priority sector in Tamil Nadu, ensuring direct engagement with farmers, understanding their concerns, and providing timely and appropriate guidance. To achieve this, the government has merged Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare into a single department. This unified department has already implemented 1,94,076 welfare schemes under five major financial programs.

To enhance farm productivity, several measures are being adopted: improved land management, water resource development, provision of electricity, water-saving devices, and use of drought-resistant traditional crop varieties. Key schemes include:

• Kalaignar Integrated Agriculture Development Scheme,
• Chief Minister’s “Protect the Soil, Save the Soul” Program,
• Climate-Resilient Agriculture Plans,
• Tamil Nadu Small Millet Mission,
• Support for organic farming, distribution of green manure seeds, bio-fertilizers, and livestock.

The initiative emphasizes integrated farming systems combining crop cultivation with livestock and fish farming. Officials from agriculture, animal husbandry, and fisheries departments, along with university scientists, will visit villages, interact with farmers, understand their needs, and demonstrate modern technologies.

The “Reaching Farmers” scheme for the fiscal year 2025–26 will be implemented across 17,116 village panchayats in Tamil Nadu. As part of this launch, the Chief Minister inaugurated the mobile exhibition van at Thiruvorur, which will disseminate agricultural development strategies and government schemes directly to farmers in their villages.

Special grievance camps will be organized every 15 days (second and fourth Fridays) in each district across 2 village panchayats, where farmers’ issues will be addressed and detailed information on schemes will be shared.

In total, the scheme will cover 1,540 village panchayats across Tamil Nadu, with each assembly constituency comprising 4 villages included in the program.

Dignitaries present at the event included:

• Hon’ble Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development, Thiru. Udhayanidhi Stalin
• Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Thiru. M.R.K. Panneerselvam
• Additional Chief Secretary, Thiru. Na. Muruganantham, IAS
• Commissioner of Agriculture and Joint Secretary, Thiru. D. Dinesh Kumar, IAS
• Director of Agriculture, Thiru. P.A. Muthuraj, IAS
• Managing Director of Agricultural Marketing, Thiru. T. Anbazhagan, IAS
• Secretary of Agricultural Engineering, Thiru. Muthurajen
• Other senior government officials

Also in attendance at the Thiruvorur venue were:

• Member of Parliament, Thiru. T. R. V. Velmurugan
• Member of Legislative Assembly, Thiru. Poondi Kalaivanan
• District Collector, Thiru. D. Vigneshchandran, IAS
• Local government representatives and senior officials.

Issued by: Director, Department of Information and Public Relations, Chennai-9