PATNA: With the Bihar government targeting to disburse loans of Rs 60,000 crore to farmers this financial year and the disbursal in the first quarter (April to June) being just Rs 8,755 crore, the agriculture department plans to hold a series of camps across the state to encourage farmers to take loans and raise productivity.
After the state government’s third agriculture roadmap was launched by President Ramnath Kovind in November, the agriculture department has been implementing various schemes to ensure a rise in productivity and the earnings of farmers.
The roadmap, in which 12 state government departments are stakeholders, is a comprehensive five-year (2017-2022) project worth Rs 1.54 lakh crore that aims at making every sphere of agriculture modernised, competitive and financially rewarding. For Bihar, the year 2017 brought laurels in agricultural achievements as production of foodgrains in the state reached a record high at 185.61 lakh tonnes, pipping the previous record of 178.29 lakh tonnes achieved in 2012-13. Bihar also witnessed record maize production of 38 lakh tonne in 2017, and the state bagged the Centre’s Krishi Karman Award for the feat.
But less takers for agriculture loans in the state remains a sticking point as it affects the competitiveness.
While the state’s annual credit plan for 2017-18 had set a target of disbursing Rs 49,000 crore among farmers, loans worth only Rs 42,161 crore (86.04 per cent) could be disbursed, said officials. “We are making special efforts this year to boost loan distribution and achieve the target of Rs 60,000 crore. We are also targeting farmers engaged in allied activities such as dairy and fisheries,” said state agriculture minister Prem Kumar to The Sunday Standard. The results of these efforts will reflect in the loan disbursal figures in the second quarter, he added.
Loan camps were held in all the 534 blocks of the state earlier this month, but the farmers’ response remained less than encouraging, said officials. The reasons included a lack of awareness among farmers about the camps and the ongoing paddy plantation work after worries about rain deficiencies were largely dispelled, they added.“With the special subsidy given by both the Centre and the state government, the farm loans are going to benefit farmers significantly. They will effectively pay just 3 per cent interest as the Centre gives 3 per cent subsidy for timely payment of loans and also an additional 1 per cent subsidy,” said the minister.