While welcoming Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s announcement in the Legislative Assembly on Monday on the increase in incentive for paddy and sugarcane, farmers organisations in the delta region, however, insisted that the TVK government should implement its poll promise of providing ₹3,500 a quintal of paddy and ₹4,500 a tonne of sugarcane at the earliest.The incentives are offered by the State government over and above the minimum support price fixed by the Centre.“We welcome the Chief Minister’s announcement on increasing the incentives, thereby giving priority for farmers despite the financial constraints. But the poll promise of TVK on the procurement prices should be implemented. We expect an announcement on the full crop loan waiver for small and marginal farmers and 50% waiver for big farmers as promised by the TVK,” said P.R. Pandian, president, Coordination Committee of All Farmers’ Associations of Tamil Nadu.Describing the increase in the incentive for sugarcane to take the procurement price to ₹4,000 a tonne as some “consolation” for growers, Swamimalai Vimalnathan, secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers’ Protection Association, said: “We were eagerly expecting ₹4,500 a tonne as promised by the TVK. We hope the government implements the promise next year.”However, Mr. Vimalnathan said the incentive announced for paddy was “unacceptable” as the TVK had promised ₹3,500 a quintal. “It amounts to deceiving 17 lakh paddy growers in the State. The government should reconsider the decision,” he demanded.‘End categorisation’He urged the government to do away with the difference in incentives for ‘fine’ and ‘common’ varieties as the Centre has done away with the distinction while fixing the minimum support price for paddy from this year. “The State government should at least fix the procurement price at ₹3,100 a quintal as done by the Chhattisgarh and Odisha governments and give an assurance that it would be increased to ₹3,500 next year,” he said.Terming the increase in incentive for paddy as meagre and negligible if the increase of ₹72 a quintal in the MSP already announced by the Centre was deducted, Cauvery Dhanapalan, president of Tamil Nadu Vivasaya Sangankalin Kootamaippu, said it came nowhere close to meeting the increase in the cost of inputs, especially fertilizers.“We welcome the increase in the incentive for sugarcane and measures to bring more area under the crop in the State,” said Ayilai Sivasuriyan, Tiruchi district secretary, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, affiliated to the Communist Party of India. Welcoming the increase in incentives for paddy too, Mr. Sivasuriyan, however, felt that the Chief Minister should have announced the full waiver of crop loans as demanded by farmers.“Though we welcome the increase incentives, a large number of farmers would not be able to benefit from it as there is no water to raise the crops,” said P. Ayyakkannu, president, Desiya Thennindiya Nadigal Innaippu Vivasayigal Sangam, urging the State government to file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking compensation from Karnataka for the crop losses caused as the upper riparian State had not released Tamil Nadu due share of water in the Cauvery. Published - August 10, 2026 08:16 pm IST