Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday accused the BJP dispensation at the Centre of being hostile to farmers and said unlike it (the BJP government) his government will always remain a friend of the farmers.

He claimed that the DMK government since the rule of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who waived off crop loans to the tune of Rs 7,000 crore when he came to power in 2006, has been friendly and supportive of the ryots.

"The DMK government has been respecting farmers and striving towards their well-being and will always be a friend of the farmers," the chief minister said, speaking after inaugurating a two-day agriculture festival organised by the agriculture department here.

He said the BJP government brought in three farm laws against the farmers' interests and made the latter protest in the national capital for months in the scorching heat and shivering cold. "Only after several farmers lost their lives and seeing their unwavering determination, the Centre relented and retracted the farm laws. This is an anti-farmer BJP government," Stalin said.

In the last one-and-a-half years after coming to power, the DMK government set a record by providing over 1.5 lakh free power connections to farmers. The development of the agriculture sector is connected with the lives and livelihoods of the people and is a measure of a country's prosperity, he said and quoted Tamil poetess Avvaiyar (varappuyara neer uyarum....kon uyarvaan) to say that a raised bund would impound more water to irrigate crop and this would, in turn, facilitate all-round prosperity.

"Hence, the farmers should be given due respect and made to prosper, only then the rulers would become popular," Stalin said and added, "since the DMK took up the reins in 2021, we have seen happiness among farmers." Stalin, who is the president of DMK, said the government achieved a record food grain production of 120 lakh metric tonnes and this was 11 per cent more than the previous year's production. About 79 lakh metric tonnes of rice, 36 lakh metric tonnes of food grains and 5 lakh metric tonnes of pulses were produced.

Agricultural activities must adapt to climate change and also meet the increasing demand for food. Precision farming practices should be followed and crops should be monitored using smartphones and drones, he advised. Farmers must be tech-savvy when it came to using modern technology to increase productivity.

Agri exhibitions currently being organised as part of this festival would provide more market opportunities for the produce, the Chief Minister said.

Nearly 86 out of 176 halls, displayed the products of 188 farmers while 90 halls showcased the products of agro-based industries at the Agri Business festival 2023 at Chennai Trade Centre, which will conclude on Sunday.

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