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| Kerala paddy farmers to get ‘green cards’
Thiruvananthapuram: As part of the efforts to increase production of paddy in the State from six lakh tonnes to eight lakh tonnes in the current year, the Kerala Government will issue ‘green cards’ to paddy farmers to help them avail themselves of interest-free loans from cooperative banks.
The ‘green card’ is one of the many schemes drawn up by the Government to increase paddy production.
The other initiatives include encouraging group farming; financial assistance of Rs 500 a hectare for taking paddy cultivation in fallow lands; production bonus and free electricity; procurement of paddy from the farmers at higher price; and insurance cover at low premium.
The Minister for Agriculture, Mullakkara Ratnakaran, said here on Thursday that the ‘green card’ scheme would be launched in Palakkad, Alappuzha and Thrissur districts in the first phase.
The ‘krishi bhavans’ will distribute the requisite forms to the farmers for recording the personal details, which will, in turn, be verified by the Agriculture Officer.
On the basis of the details provided, the green cards will be printed using the software developed by the Farm Information Bureau and given to the farmers.
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