The lifeline of the state is very much related to the strength of its agriculture sector. Failure to secure the sector in the last five years had made all of us pay a heavy price. The sector cries for “stability” and the situations demand a change.

Policies conducive to make food crop cultivation profitable and to enable continuation of such crops will be framed.

Irrigation facilities, procurement of produce, subsidies, interest-free loans, fertilizers, seed distribution etc. will be provided to farmers engaged in food crop cultivation.

Special incentives like interest-free loans, subsidies, production bonus etc. will provided to paddy cultivators.

Procurement price of paddy will be raised.

Due to climate change, pest attacks diseases etc. all crops are in distress. Crop insurance will be provided as a solution to this.

Price stabilisation mechanism will be put in place to deal with variations in the price of cash crops.

For the mechanisation of the agricultural sector, comprehensive schemes will be chalked out and all encouragement including subsidies provided.

Lease farming will be encouraged. Policy allowing leasing of lands for cultivation will be adopted. Legal protection will be provided to the right of possession of those land owners who lease out land for agricultural purposes.

Financial assistance will be provided to industrial units engaged in agricultural processing. Setting up of industrial parks for food processing will be encouraged.

Technology for production of hundreds of value-added products from agricultural crops like coconut, pepper, rubber is available in abundance in ASEAN countries. Utilising this, value addition will be encouraged in Kerala.

Organic farming will be expanded by creating facilities for the purpose.