The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Ryots investing extensively in short-term crops: report

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 03, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Ryots investing extensively in short-term crops: report

Staff Reporter

MADURAI: Farmers in Madurai district have spent a huge chunk of agriculture loans in short-term crops in 2006–07, according to a report compiled by Lead Bank, Canara Bank.

Part of an annual exercise, the report covers all government, private, cooperative banks and other financial institutions and is placed before District Consultative Committee, chaired by the Collector.

According to the report, 86 per cent of the agricultural credit was on crop loans, which yields results for three to twelve months. “People should go for term loans and invest in medium and long term assets. They include minor irrigation and borewells (which yield results for about seven years), horticulture, mango, coconut and ‘sapota’ (which yield results for 40 years) and in farm mechanisation,” said Assistant General Manager of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, R. Srinivasan.

Post-harvest management

Farmers should also invest in post-harvest management such as cold storage and rural godowns. Quoting Union Ministry of Agriculture statistics, he said 30 per cent of agricultural produce in India was wasted due to lack of scientific storage mechanism.

Echoing similar views, Assistant General Manager of State Bank of India S. Sridharan said some vegetables and fruits that were seasonal were now available round the year due to storage facilities.

Of the total 265 branches of bank/financial institutions in the district, SBI has the largest (33). It also has the largest number of rural branches in Madurai–15 of the total 80.

Rapid urbanisation

He blamed the rapid urbanisation of Madurai for the declining long term investments. “Since land prices are shooting up, of late, many people are waiting for the right time to sell their lands. Also, small-scale farming is no longer attractive. Large scale farming is the need to be economically viable,” he said. The public sector bank had appointed 56 marketing officers exclusively for agriculture in ten southern districts during the past three years, of whom nine would work in Madurai.

Farmers should also upgrade/modernise their equipment and get into export-oriented crops and others that would also grow on arid land such as orchid flowers, he said.

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

Tamil Nadu