Tamil Nadu Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare M.R.K. Panneerselvam on Saturday (November 22, 2025) accused the Opposition parties of spreading false allegations against the State government by politicising the issue of paddy procurement during the Kuruvai season.Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat, he said unseasonal rains caused by climate change had affected the cropping season. Because of a series of initiatives taken by the State government for the welfare of farmers, including the announcement of the ₹214 crore for the Kuruvai package scheme, provision of subsidies, and timely release of water for irrigation from the Mettur dam, the production of paddy had tripled, he said.Mr. Panneerselvam said that during the previous AIADMK rule, 1.79 crore metric tonnes of paddy were procured in 10 years. However, since 2021, when the DMK came to power, a total of 1.93 crore metric tonnes of paddy had been procured.He said the Centre had not granted permission for the blending of fortified rice and had refused the demand to increase the moisture content for paddy procurement. “After refusing to increase the moisture level for paddy procurement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was participating in a conference on natural farming. They are playing a double game on farmers’ issues,” he alleged.He said that in the past four years, crop insurance claims amounting to ₹5,997 crore had been settled, benefiting 37 lakh farmers. Under disaster relief, ₹1,692 crore had been released to 20 lakh farmers. With respect to providing compensation for recent crop losses, the Minister said, 4,893 hectares had been affected, impacting 4,667 farmers, and the Chief Minister would soon announce the compensation. He said fertiliser stocks exceeded the requirement and officials were monitoring their distribution regularly.Published - November 22, 2025 04:44 pm IST