Compensate TN sugarcane growers for crop loss due to fungal infection, wild boar attack: AIADMK

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami urged the state government to provide a minimum compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre to the affected cane growers.

Chennai: Stating that the sugarcane farmers across Tamil Nadu are facing severe setbacks due to the outbreak of fungal diseases in the standing crop, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday urged the state government to provide a minimum compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre to the affected cane growers.

In addition to the outbreak of Pokkaboing, root grub, and other fungal diseases, the sugarcane is being devoured by wild boars, he said.

---

“Even Villupuram, the home district of state Agriculture Minister M R K Panneerselvam, is no exception. Sugarcane was raised on about 25,000 acres but was affected by Pokkaboing, root grub, and other fungal diseases. About 8,000 acres of sugarcane have been completely affected,” Palaniswami said in a statement here.

As a result, the farmers, who availed bank loans to raise the crop, have now expressed inability to repay the loans due to losses, he said.

Cuddalore, Villupuram and Kallakurichi districts account for the chief cultivation of sugarcane in north Tamil Nadu. But the farmers’ cup of woes is overflowing as the sugar mills in these districts have not provided remunerative prices for the cane procured. As cane cultivation has become a disadvantage, the farmers are shifting to the cultivation of paddy, corn, and other crops, the former chief minister said.

“The Cuddalore district farmers have expressed anguish that no action has been taken to provide them pesticides to control the infection or even launch measures to prevent the wild boar attacks. They are worried that the infection will spread to other crops and destroy them as well,” Palaniswami said in the statement.

Hence, he sought the Agriculture Minister and the department officials to survey the disease-affected farms immediately and assess the condition of the standing crop. Insurance firms that have declined to compensate for the crop loss should be directed to compensate the growers.

“Reports indicate that sugarcane grown on about 75,000 acres throughout Tamil Nadu have been affected by the fungal infection or devoured by wild boar. The state government should provide the cane growers a compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre, distribute pesticides, and safeguard the crop from wild animal attacks,” Palaniswami said.