The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Nationalised banks may be urged to give farm loans at 4 p.c. interest rate

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 05, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Nationalised banks may be urged to give farm loans at 4 p.c. interest rate

Staff Reporter

Yediyurappa says the Government may get a resolution passed in the legislature

— Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

REAPING THE BENEFIT: Farmers, who were selected for an award for high-yield palm cultivation, waiting for their turn at the presentation ceremony in Bangalore on Wednesday.

BANGALORE: Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said here that the coalition government in the State was keen to get a resolution passed in the Legislature urging the Centre to direct nationalised banks to give farm loans at an interest rate of 4 per cent.

Giving away the awards to oil palm growers who got maximum yield on Wednesday, Mr. Yediyurappa said the Government would seek the support of the opposition Congress to the resolution.

He said the low interest rate being offered by the cooperative banks following a State Government decision had benefited farmers only partially.

Farmers approaching nationalised banks were paying higher interest rate. The Congress would be taken into confidence in this regard, he said. Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had praised the State’s move to offer farm loans at low interest rate, he said. The Deputy Chief Minister said the State would set up an Agricultural Fair Authority and conduct regular events at Poonjanahalli near the Devanahalli international airport. The authority would promote exports, he said.

He said the country spent Rs. 12,000 crore on import of palm oil as the domestic production could supply only 40 per cent of the demand of 110 lakh tonnes.

In the State, it was grown in over 16,000 hectares. The Government was giving subsidies and had instituted cash awards carrying cash prizes ranging from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 45,000 for farmers.

He and Minister for Horticulture Shashikanth A. Naik gave away awards to 62 farmers, including four women. Among them was K.E. Nagaraju of Madenahalli in Honnali taluk of Davangere, who grew 26 tonnes of palm an hectare in 2004-05 and nearly 22 tonnes an hectare in 2005-06. He bagged the first prize for both the years. P. Ravishankar of Chamarajanagar district bagged the second prize for the two years.

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