Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 3 (PTI) The Kerala government on Wednesday held a high-level meeting to discuss the problems being faced by cardamom farmers and work out solutions, including a moratorium on loans given to them.

The online meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, a statement issued by his office said.

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In the meeting, also attended by state Ministers P Prasad, K N Balagopal and P Rajeev, discussions were held on holding talks with state-level bankers' committee on announcing a moratorium on loans given to cardamom farmers.

Besides that, discussions were also held on asking banks to increase the loan repayment grace period and making efforts to provide relief with regard to interest payments, the statement said.

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The other solutions discussed in the meeting included seeking the Spices Board help to solve the issue of shortage of planting material and developing other varieties of crops.

Additionally, the government will also explore the possibility of using the labourers under the employment guarantee scheme to ensure water availability, it said.

Discussions will also be held with the Spices Board and the Central government to adopt a practical model for crop insurance, it said.

The CM also directed the Agriculture Department to try to get financial assistance from the State Disaster Response Fund, the statement said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)