Tamil Nadu Hikes Paddy and Sugarcane Procurement Incentives

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced a steep raise in procurement incentives for paddy and sugarcane farmers in the state Assembly in Chennai. Delivering the announcement under Rule 110, the Chief Minister stated that the state government resolved to enact the unprecedented hike to protect agricultural workers despite the state's current financial constraints.

The enhanced rates will go into effect starting September 1, marking the commencement of the paddy procurement season. Under the revised incentive scheme, the state government's contribution will rise to Rs 289 per quintal for fine grade paddy and Rs 159 per quintal for common grade paddy. When combined with the minimum support price, the total procurement price will stand at Rs 2,750 per quintal for fine grade paddy and Rs 2,600 per quintal for common grade paddy.

In his address to the Assembly, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay highlighted that the state incentive for paddy has been raised to an unprecedented level in Tamil Nadu's history. He noted that this is the first time that the state government has increased the paddy procurement incentive by more than Rs 156 within a single year.

For sugarcane farmers, the state government announced an increase of Rs 709 per tonne in procurement incentives, bringing the total procurement price to Rs 4,000 per tonne. For the upcoming 2025-26 milling year, the Central government set the procurement price at Rs 3,290.50 per metric tonne for registered farmers supplying sugar mills. The Tamil Nadu government will supplement this with a special state incentive of Rs 709.5 per tonne to achieve the Rs 4,000 target price.

Comparing the decision with previous years, the Chief Minister pointed out that the special incentive for sugarcane had increased by only Rs 156 over the entire last five-year period. In contrast, the current policy provides a hike of Rs 360.5 in the first year itself. He assured the farming community that the state government will stand shoulder to shoulder with farmers to support agriculture and rural livelihoods across the state.