Key resolutions like provision of compensation for crop loss caused by wild animals and opening more paddy procurement centres were taken during the Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association’s State committee meeting held here on Wednesday. D. Ravindran, State president, presiding over the meeting, said that since appropriate compensation was not provided for loss of life and crop damage caused by wild animals, the situation was severely impacting the livelihood of farmers. “While animals like wild boars, deer, monkeys and squirrels and also peacocks are causing significant crop damage, animals like elephants, bears, among others are responsible for a daily increase in casualties and crop damage,” he added. He urged the State government to fix the cassava (tapioca) procurement price at ₹16,000 per ton. “It was ₹5,000 per tonne and this year it plummeted to ₹4,000 a tonne,” he added. Cassava is a major crop in over 21 districts like Salem, Nammakal, Tiruchi, Dharmapuri, Kallakurichi, Thanjavur, and Ariyalur. One of the major reasons for the price fall was the Union government reducing the import duty on cassava starch and other products from Cambodia from 50% to 5%, causing a loss of up to ₹5,000 crores for Tamil Nadu farmers. Therefore, Mr. Ravindran said, the Union government should re-impose a 50% import duty on starch and other products made from cassava imported from Cambodia. Since it is currently the harvesting season, the Tamil Nadu government must intervene immediately, convene a tripartite meeting, and fix the price of ₹16,000 per ton to protect the farmers, he demanded. One of the resolutions was to establish a sufficient number of permanent buildings and adequate staff for direct paddy procurement centres in districts across the State where paddy cultivation has increased. The resolution stated that the State government should stop relying on Union government procurement agencies like National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF), which delay payments for months and releases only after major protests and State government intervention. To avoid delay and confusions, the resolution advised the State government to open more procurement centres through the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) “We request that the license granted to NCCS for 42 paddy procurement centres in the Tiruvannamalai district be revoked, and TNCSC should handle the entire procurement process. To prevent paddy sacks from getting wet and spoiling during seasonal rains and floods, permanent buildings with roofs for protection should be constructed,” the resolution added. Another key resolution was to abandon the efforts of State and Union governments to construct an airport on fertile land with ample water resources in Ramanathapuram district. The proposed area, the resolution said, included over 100 villages such as Kumbaram, Regunathapuram, Valantharavai, Perunkulam, and among others. This would involve the removal of lakhs of palm and coconut trees, and the destruction of good soil for paddy and oilseed cultivation, it added. Published - September 10, 2025 08:33 pm IST