Coimbatre: The central government was trying its best to find an amicable solution to the Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, said Union minister of state for agriculture , farmers welfare and panchayati raj Parshottam Rupala here on Wednesday. He also refuted reports that the BJP government was backing poll-bound Karnataka in the Cauvery issue to reap political gains.“The Centre is concerned only about farmers’ well-being and we will work out a solution that would benefit the peasants of Tamil Nadu,” Rupala said while addressing the media after inaugurating an international conference on emerging synergies in agriculture, food processing engineering and biotechnology at Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences near the city.To solve inter-state water issues, the minister said, the BJP government had always promoted linking of rivers. Pointing out that the central government had been working to address farmers’ issues in the country, he said, “The Centre has sanctioned at least Rs 50,000 crore to implement agricultural schemes that have been pending for more than 20 years. We have identified 99 such schemes across the country and 50 of them will be completed this year. We will implement the remaining schemes by 2020.”Referring to the issue of farmer suicides, he said the Narendra Modi government had introduced several schemes such as Krishi Sinchai Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana to help farmers tide over difficult phases. “Through such schemes, Tamil Nadu farmers have been getting much more benefit than peasants from other states,” Rupala said.Asked about the Centre’s apathy towards Tamil Nadu farmers who protested in New Delhi last year, the minister said the protest was politicised and it was not a fair one.On the issue of allowing farmers to fix the minimum support prices (MSP), he said it would be chaotic if farmers from every state were allowed to fix their own MSP. “But we will involve farmers in the process of fixing the price and incorporate their suggestions,” Rupala said.Earlier, speaking at the inaugural event of the conference, Itamar Glazer, director of Agricultural Research Organisation, Volcani Centre, Israel, said the post-harvest loss of food grains was a major problem in agriculture. “Through the collaboration of researchers, farmers, industries and extension services, Israel has reduced food grain waste to 0.5% as compared to 20%-30% in the rest of the world,” Glazer said.

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