The Kerala Farmers’ Welfare Fund Board, cleared by the Cabinet on October 7, is scheduled to hold its first meeting here on Wednesday.
It is the government’s desire that the farmers are given a monthly pension in the range of ₹3,000-₹5,000, Agriculture Minster V.S. Sunil Kumar said here on Tuesday. A final decision on increasing farmers’ pensions will be taken after the local body polls.
Billed as the first of its kind in the country, the welfare fund board entitles farmers to a slew of benefits, including pension and medical assistance. The board will be headquartered in Thrissur.
Royalty scheme
The State government’s proposal to pay a royalty of ₹2,000 per hectare to owners of cultivable paddy land has already drawn between 60,000 and 70,000 registrations, Mr. Sunil Kumar said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate online the distribution of royalty on Thursday. The annual royalty is meant to encourage landowners to retain the fields for paddy cultivation.
The government had set aside ₹40 crore for the royalty in the 2020-21 State Budget. However, if the land in question continues to lie fallow for three consecutive years the owners will lose their eligibility for the royalty. The applications for the royalty should be filed online on www.aims.kerala.gov.in.
Centre of Excellence
At a virtual conclave on Thursday, the Chief Minister will inaugurate the Centre of Excellence for Vegetables and Flowers at the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) at Ambalavayal in Wayanad district.
The centre is being established with technical assistance from the Dutch government under the Indo-Dutch Joint Action Plan.
Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar; Carola Schouten, Minister for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Netherlands; and the Netherlands ambassador to India Marten Van den Berg, will be present.
The centre is being set up under the State Horticulture Mission (SHM) at a cost of ₹13 crore with the aim of transforming Wayanad into a hub of floriculture, Mr. Sunil Kumar said.
