The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Loan waiver no solution to farm crisis: Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 12, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Loan waiver no solution to farm crisis: Minister

Special Correspondent

Bangalore: Waiver of loans is no solution to the agricultural crisis, and the sector can only be saved through consistent support mechanisms such as low-interest loans and subsides, according to Minister for Cooperation G.T. Deve Gowda.

Speaking after inaugurating a workshop for office-bearers of Taluk Agricultural Produce Cooperative Marketing Societies organised by the Karnataka State Cooperative Federation, the Minister suggested legislation to ensure that farmers were provided loans at four per cent interest by successive governments. Initiatives such as this were crucial at a time when a large number of traditional farmers were abandoning agriculture and the threat of food scarcity loomed large, he said.

The Minister emphasised the role of cooperative societies in ensuring the survival of small farmers in a market-driven economy, especially when giant retail chains were already in the race.

`Innovation needed'

The societies should think of innovative methods such as procuring vegetables from farmers, processing them and delivering them to people on the lines of milk, he said. Strengthening the agricultural marketing system was the only way to survive in a competitive market, he said.

He advised cooperative societies to work towards winning the trust of farmers by providing them seeds, pesticides and other material in time and ensuring a good price for their produce.

Some of the societies were selling off their assets to augment their capital, but this, the Minister warned, would prove harmful in the long run.

Delivering the keynote address, P. Ravikumar, Secretary, Department of Cooperation, said the role of Taluk Agricultural Produce Marketing Cooperative Societies had been marginalised in the globalised economy. He said the societies should revitalise themselves to help small farmers.

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