Sixty-two farmer producer groups to be formed in Ariyalur

Under the initiative, five farmer interest groups should be formed in each village by organising small and marginal ryots.

Sixty-two farmer producer groups would be formed in the district as part of a collective farming initiative, according to Collector D. Rathna.

Presiding over a review meeting on the progress of the programme, she said agriculture and horticulture officials should expedite action to achieve the target. The State government allotted ₹3.10 crore for the initiative for 2019-20, with agriculture and horticulture departments sanctioned ₹2 crore and ₹1.10 crore respectively.

Under the initiative, five farmer interest groups should be formed in each village by organising small and marginal ryots. They would subsequently be incorporated into a farmer producer group. It would enable credit mobilisation, better adoption of technology and facilitate effective forward and backward linkages.

Out of 62 farmer producer groups, the Agriculture Department would form 40. The responsibility of forming the remaining would be vested on the Horticulture Department. Upon formation, each group would be given ₹5 lakh, which could be used to buy machinery. The machines would be collectively used for cultivation.

The producer groups could enter into memorandum of understanding with other groups to buy machinery and equipment exceeding ₹5 lakh, but not for marketing and sale.

Senior officials of Agriculture and Horticulture departments participated in the meeting.

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