The Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Federation has urged the Tamil Nadu government to continue the ‘Farmer Official Link 2.0’ (Uzhavar Aluvalar Thodarbu 2.0) scheme adopted in response to long-standing farmer demands, and immediately stop any attempts to terminate it.
In a statement, K.V. Elangeeran, president of the federation said the persistent opposition by officials of the Horticulture department and related court cases have severely delayed subsidy support for small-holder crops, affecting farmers.
Mr. Elangeeran alleged horticulture officers who met Pattali Makkal Katchi president Anbumani Ramadoss concealed the ground reality and provided misleading information following which he had demanded the government to withdraw the scheme.
A single farmer typically grows multiple crops on the same land. Previously, each crop required separate visits by officials of different departments (agriculture, horticulture, agricultural marketing, and agricultural engineering), causing delays in crop protection, subsidies and technical assistance.
To remove this hardship, the government accepted farmers’ demand and announced the ‘Farmer-Official Link 2.0 scheme.
He said that the data available with the State government shows across Tamil Nadu’s 17,163 revenue villages, 76% of village area is under agricultural crops while only 24% is under horticulture crops. The workload of assistant horticulture officers is eight times lower than that of assistant agriculture officers. Opposing the scheme only harms farmers’ welfare, he said.
The scheme must not be stopped for any reason. Immediate action was needed to ensure that subsidy payments for small-holder crops reached farmers without delay, he said.
Published – June 25, 2026 08:15 pm IST