The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : NABARD to reach out to farmers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 09, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

NABARD to reach out to farmers

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, AUG. 8. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has decided to galvanise about 9,000 farmers' clubs across the country to educate farmers on a range of issues like alternative cropping patterns and viable non-farm economic generation activities.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a two-day national consultation meet on issues confronting farmers, the Chairperson of NABARD, Ranjana Kumar, said the clubs would be used as "avenues" to disseminate knowledge by roping in academics from agricultural universities, NGOs, banks and other organisations. "We will start in a month," she said.

Need for awareness

Stressing the need to increase awareness among farmers, Ms. Kumar pointed out that many did not know that the RBI had recently issued guidelines saying that no security was needed for availing loans up to Rs. 50,000.

NABARD had earlier organised a series of farmers' meets in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Orissa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan that were attended by bank officials and voluntary organisations. The feedback showed that the main problem was implementation of the many schemes, she said.

Flow of credit

It had been decided to simplify the documentation process for loans up to Rs. 1 lakh, Ms. Kumar said. On steps to double the flow of credit to agriculture in the next three years from the present Rs. 80,000 crores, she said it has been decided that the growth rate must increase by 40 per cent in Regional Rural Banks and 30 per cent in commercial and cooperative banks this year.

Pilot projects

In a bid to help tenant farmers and sharecroppers avail loans, NABARD had just launched a pilot project in the districts of Mahbubnagar, Anantapur, Cuddapah, Guntur, Vizianagaram and Nizamabad. Under the scheme, banks would be allowed extend loans to rythu mithra self-help-groups, which in turn would lend to farmers, she said.

Ms. Kumar stressed that the interest rates of cooperative banks must be on a par with commercial banks for them to be viable. She wanted the banks to pay attention to the social commitments of farmers while extending loans so the money was not diverted for other needs.

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