HYDERABAD: As the conduct of annual State credit seminars by NABARD became a mere ritual, Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Thursday directed them to conduct the annual credit plan meetings among the farmers’ groups in rural areas. Invite the best farmers and take their suggestions before finalising the year plans, Rao suggested to the officials of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
Participating in NABARD’s State credit seminar 2020-21 here, Harish Rao said that the annual credit plans would better if the officials take the suggestions directly from the farmers. He asked the NABARD officials to liberally finance the food processing, storage, marketing and export sectors. He also explained the various farmer-friendly initiatives of the State government.
He said that Telangana is the only state which spends 30 per cent of the funds in the State Budget on agriculture and allied sectors alone. “Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is a farmer. He knows the problems of the farmers and that is why he has been according to top priority for the agriculture sector and farmers’ welfare,” he said. Harish Rao said that the proposed crop colonies too would be launched soon in the State. As there would be a shortage for agriculture labour in future, the Finance Minister directed the NABARD officials to provide loans for farmers for purchasing agriculture implements and encourage mechanisation of agriculture.
While providing loans for the purchase of agriculture implements, the bankers should give priority to small and marginal farmers, Harish Rao suggested. The loans should be given by charging minimum interest, he told the bankers.