Thanjavur: Tamil Nadu stands numero uno in the country in food grain production thanks to the priority given by the State Government to the agriculture sector, Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister R. Duraikannu said.

Launching the samba special package in Thanjavur today, the Minister said the State produced 130 lakh tonnes of food grains in 2015-16. “Three phase power supply was provided for 12 hours a day for agriculture connections and loans to the tune of Rs. 5, 780 crore were waived for small and medium-scale farmers. These were some of the steps taken for the welfare of farmers and development of agriculture sector,” he said.

Tamil Nadu has set a record by winning the Viswakarma Award for the last three consecutive years for food grain production.

“As Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced kuruvai special package and allotted Rs 54.55 crores, kuruvai crops have now been raised in 3.14 lakh acres in the state. The Chief Minister has now made a fund allocation of Rs 64.34 crores under the samba special package for increasing the agriculture and food grain production. A target has now been set to achieve 145 lakh tonnes of food grain production this year,” Duraikannu added.

District Collector Annadurai, former minister R Vaithilingam, Member of Parliament K. Parasuraman, Mayor Savithri Gopal and district panchayat chairperson Amutharani Ravichandran were present.