TIRUCHY: Compared to last year's crop loan disbursement of Rs 97.85 crore, the co-operative societies in Tiruchy offered a total of Rs 248 crore this year to the farmers in Tiruchy. The officials cited the condition of the farmers post the pandemic as the reason for the increase.
According to an official from the department, the crop loans were disbursed from a total of 147 Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies (PACCS) in Tiruchy. R Chidambaram, one of the beneficiaries, said, "The crop loans have benefited me much, particularly because it is interest-free.
I received Rs 1.5 lakh this year as a loan, with which I've been able to cultivate corn and cotton across ten acres of land." P Pandithurai from Valayappatty, another beneficiary, said, "I am cultivating rice on two acres of land with the Rs 1 lakh loan I received this year."
A Ramamurthy, the secretary of the PACCS in Kavalkaranpatty in Manapparai, said, "Last year, a loan worth Rs 4 crore was disbursed through our society, and this year we gave a total of Rs 6 crore and Rs 20 lakh. Farmers are becoming more aware of the benefits of such societies and we are also processing their requests within a week's time. After the society loan waiver by the State government in 2021, the situation of the farmers has improved."
A PACCS secretary from Kariyamanikkam, Soma Rajasekar, said, "Youngsters have been showing interest in taking up farming activities and becoming part of the societies. This has made societies stronger."
T Jeyaraman, the district joint registrar of co-operative societies, said, "Compared with last year, we increased the loans by Rs 150 crore. We have been giving regular handouts to farmers on the benefits of cooperative society loans. It is a collective effort."