Tamil Nadu will soon see Amma Seeds taking on seeds marketed by multi-national giants. In what could be a master political stroke, J Jayalalithaa, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, launched on Saturday quality and certified seeds under the brand name Amma, the State’s popular brand.
A release by the Government of Tamil Nadu on Saturday said the public sector Tamil Nadu State Seeds Development Agency would offer farmers quality and certified seeds under the brand name Amma Seeds at affordable prices.
The Chief Minister launched the scheme by personally handing over the seeds to three farmers. It has come us a big relief to farmers who suffered heavy losses in the recent flood which devastated their crops.
The Amma Seeds scheme is a dream come true for the farmers in the State as Jayalalithaa had assured them in 2014 that she would ensure that they would get quality seeds at affordable rates. In her addresses to the farming community, Jayalalithaa has been advocating for the use of certified quality seeds. The TNSSDA has been assigned as the nodal agency to procure and distribute the Amma seeds among the farming community.
Since she assumed the chief ministership in 2011, Jayalalithaa has launched innovative and pro-poor schemes under the brand name Amma, as she is addressed by the people Tamil Nadu. The Amma Canteens took the state by storm by offering Rs1/- idli and lunch and dinner for Rs5 each. This was followed by Amma Mineral Water costing Rs10/- per litre.
The last two years saw the launching of Amma Pharmacy selling medicines on a no-profit-no-loss mode. Jayalalithaa also introduced Amma Cement at subsidised rates when price of cement shot through the roof. Another initiative under the brand name Amma was the neighbourhood vegetable and fruit shops where farm fresh vegetables and fruits are sold at considerably lower rates than super markets promoted by the corporate groups. Also on the anvil is Amma Cinema offering movies in air conditioned theatres at the rate of Rs25.
To make bus travel through the suburban roads in Chennai a pleasant experience, the government has launched small buses, with the trade mark two leaves, the symbol of the AIADMK. The buses are unofficially known as Amma Buses. T Kannan, leading industrialist, recently remarked in the presence of the chief minister that the fastest growing brand name in Tamil Nadu is Amma.