Chennai: Tamil Nadu govt’s agriculture budget for 2026 – 27 has signalled a shift towards modernisation and technology-enabled farming to improve productivity, reduce climate risks and strengthen marketing of farm produce.The budget tabled by Agriculture minister R Vinoth said an Agriculture Intelligence and Marketing Excellence Centre (AIMEC) would be set up to integrate data from 285 regulated markets, 213 national agriculture markets, and 194 uzhavar sandhais to support farmers in understanding the market prices. The centre will help farmers make data-driven decisions, applying AI tools to conduct predictive analytics to identify opportunities and risks.“The govt is focussing on modernisation to address workforce shortage and increase production,’’ said Vinoth.The state agriculture budget has said Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AI&ML) would be used for providing real-time weather advisories and market intelligence to farmers while women farmers would be trained in drone technology. The budget has also allocated Rs 227 crore towards agriculture mechanization.Agri experts have welcomed the thrust on modernisation. “Using real-time data, AI-based weather updates will be a boon to farmers. But AI-based predictive analytics and market intelligence has challenges, the right set of historical data is essential,” Chollin Selvan, founder, e Sandhai, an agri produce value chain startup, said.The govt has come up with Uzhavar AI Scheme which is aimed at providing timely weather alerts to farmers. With real-time data fetched through satellite images and IMD, the initiative aims to update farmers on weather, soil health, and disease control.The govt also said Vetri Vaanmagal Scheme, a scheme to train 500 farmers including 100 women in operating drones would be launched. Drones will be provided to 50 women at 50% subsidy. The scheme will be implemented at Rs 2.5 crores. “Women in farmers’ families can use drones to spray pesticide and monitor farms. Remote Pilot Certificate can be obtained through just five days of training,” Dinesh Baluraj, CEO, Yali aerospace, a startup providing drone training at Thanjavur, said.The govt has also proposed higher investments in cold storage facilities, agri-export centres and food processing to reduce post-harvest losses. Agriculture infrastructure got a fillip in the budget as the govt has announced a new organic farming institute.A new organic farming institute in the name of organic farming activist G Nammazhvar to be set up at Rs15 crores in Sakkottai near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district. Tamil Nadu Food Processing and Agri Export Promotion Corporation (TNAPEx) centres would be set up in Trichy and Coimbatore.GraphicsAgri Infra Upgrade:* New organic farming institute commemorating organic farming activist Nammazhvar in Kumbakonam at Rs 15 crores.* Major agriculture expo in Thanjavur to promote farm mechanization.* Student hostels on the TNAU campus in Coimbatore will be expanded at Rs 10 crores.* Rs 3 crores to purchase buses for TNAU Coimbatore.* TNApex regional centres in Trichy and Coimbatore at Rs 78 lakhsEOM