The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Banks urged to extend loans to landless ryots

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 24, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Banks urged to extend loans to landless ryots

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JAN. 23. Nirmala Seetharaman, Member, National Commission for Women, on Saturday called upon banks to extend loans to landless farmers.

Inaugurating a regional workshop on `Coping mechanism by women where farmers/breadwinner committed suicide', here, she said banks were lending only Rs. 7,000 crores, whereas the need was Rs. 25,000 crores. As a result needy people were securing loans at higher rates of interest. "Indirectly we are pushing these people into the clutches of private lenders," she said addressing delegates from Maharashtra, at the Andhra Pradesh Academy of Rural Development, Rajendranagar.

Ms. Seetharaman pointed out that because of the failure of krishi vignana kendras farmers were unable to have a clear understanding of the use of insecticides/seeds and lacked awareness about spurious products.

She said although the Government had extended massive financial assistance to farmers the desired results were not forthcoming because it lacked clarity on expenses incurred by them. She said of the 106-lakh farmers in the State 21.28-lakhs were tenants who needed to be rescued.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh