Kerala Seeks Centre's Financial Aid to Tackle Climate Impact on Agriculture

Kerala Agriculture Minister T Siddique has urged the Centre to provide adequate financial assistance to states to tackle the growing impact of climate change on agriculture, saying preventive measures should be supported before disasters cause widespread crop losses.

Siddique raised the issue at the South Zone Agricultural Conference of Agriculture Ministers held in Hyderabad on Friday. In a Facebook post, he said he highlighted the challenges faced by Kerala's agricultural sector due to adverse climatic conditions.

The minister said governments currently receive financial support mainly after agricultural losses occur, and called for a shift towards funding preventive and preparedness measures.

"At present, money is being spent only after agricultural losses occur," Siddique said.

He said the Kerala government is implementing various measures and programmes to address situations arising from climate change and reduce their impact on farmers and the agricultural sector.

However, Siddique said financial constraints and related difficulties continue to pose major challenges to the state's efforts to effectively respond to climate-related disasters.

According to the minister, representatives from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry and Karnataka also raised similar concerns at the conference, underlining the challenges faced by southern states in dealing with climate-related risks to agriculture.

Siddique also raised the issue of agricultural credit and sought an increase in the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loan limit for farmers from the existing Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

He urged that the proposed increase should be implemented while retaining the existing four per cent interest rate, which would help farmers access additional credit without increasing the cost of borrowing.

The discussions at the conference focused on issues affecting the agricultural sector in southern states, including the need for stronger financial support and measures to address emerging challenges linked to climate change.