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Windfall for farmers continues, loan disbursal target raised to Rs 4,75,000 crore
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Wednesday, 02 March, 2011, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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Farmers can continue to reap a financial harvest that first came as a windfall loan waiver of Rs 60,000 crore in 2008. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee raised the target for loan disbursal to the farmers from the present Rs 3,75,000 crore to Rs 4,75,000 crore in 2011-12, nearly a 27% jump.
Mukherjee has raised the target consistently in 2010-11, the loan target was raised by over 15% at Rs 3.75 lakh crore as against Rs 3.25 lakh crore in 2009-10. However, the finance minister has not lost sight of the need for fiscal discipline. Easy cash comes only for those farmers who do not default on payments.
Interest on farm credit for those paying on time was brought down to 5% from the standard rate of 7% in the last Budget, in addition to providing them with more time to repay loans. This year, those making timely payments will get farm loans at 4%.
"Banks have been asked to step up direct lending for agriculture and credit to small and marginal farmers," Mukherjee said.
India's aggressive farm credit policy - ranging from soft loans to high support prices -- has put soft cash into stressed farm hands, cushioning the 8impact of a crippling drought in 2009, the worst in three decades. The mammoth loan waiver called the Agriculture Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, announced in 2008 has been the main driver of farmers' incomes. The finance said in his Budget speech: "Banks have been consistently meeting the targets set for agriculture credit flow in the past few years." .
Farmers expected much more
Welcoming the relief in interest rate in crop loans and increase in the crop loan target to Rs 4,75,000 crore from Rs 3,75,000 crore, farmers in Maharashtra continue to demand interest free loans, especially to distressed dry land farmers. The hike in credit outlay to Rs 4,75, 000 crore won't help because the default so far is more than double the amount in the Budget. Besides, the banks do not patronise farmers in sanctioning the loans. Even when they approve the loans, they take time to disburse the amount, forcing the farmers to go to private money-lenders. Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti welcomed the proposal to give direct cash subsidies on kerosene and LPG to the poor and cash payment for fertilizer subsidy to farmers, but complained that there was no provision for food security, health security and family pension. Cash subsidy on fertilizers to BPL families doesn't make any sense. How many BPL families own land in order to take advantage of this benefit?
Farmers welcomed the big provision for warehousing and cold storages. But the government should ensure that the farmers get credit against the produce stored in warehouses or cold storages. This way the farmers will fulfill their short-term requirement and they will be able to repay the loan in time as well.
Maharashtra still has the highest farmer suicide rate in the country because of the agrarian crisis. In recent years, farmers from the rich horticulture belt have also committed suicide. This has been happening despite relief packages worth more than Rs 12,000 crore. How will the farmers repay the loans in time when the agricultural economy fluctuated because of unforeseen factors like bad weather, poor production and exploitation by middlemen. As per the Budget, farmers who clear their dues on time will get loans at an interest rate of 4%, which is 3% less than the market rate.
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