Maha CM pitches for ‘financing farmers’ as bankers plan to lend Rs 85,464 Cr for agriculture

Mumbai, May 11: Emphasizing the agriculture sector and prioritizing the farmers’ income, around Rs 85,464 Crores will be lent to the farm sector. On Thursday, bankers decided to lend the sum to boost the agricultural activity in the state.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the State Level Banking Committee (SLBC), chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and attended by NABARD and the Reserve Bank officials. Bankers have decided to lend Rs 85,464 Crores to the farm sector in Maharashtra, a growth of 12 percent over the previous year, amid a prolonged weakness in agricultural activity.

 

The credit disbursement plan approved by the committee included Rs 58,319 Crores in crop loans and Rs 27,145 Crores for capital investments in the sector.

While presenting the annual budget for fiscal 2018-19, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced a 10% increase in agri lending to Rs 11 lakh Crores.

Maharashtra is staring at an 8.3% dip in agriculture growth in fiscal 2017-18 on account of decreased production of food-grains, pulses and cotton crops, according to the annual Economic Survey.

Stating that the farm sector is his Government's topmost priority, CM Fadnavis expressed displeasure over the shortfall in disbursement in 2017-18 and asked banks to have a more focused strategy to finance farmers.

"Our credit plan for next season is increased; achieving it is most important now. We don't want to increase the gap between the targeted and actual disbursement," the CM said.

He asked banks to put emphasis on agri processing sector. Around 37 lakh farmer accounts received benefits of loan waiver scheme until now, we should focus on financing them and also reaching them out, giving information of various schemes, said CM Devendra Fadnavis.

Around 37 lakh farmer accounts have received benefit of the state's crop loan waiver scheme till now, CM Fadnavis added.

"We should now focus on financing them and reaching out to them, giving information of various schemes," he said.

The chief minister said interactive approach and engagement by banks towards farmers is the need of the hour. "We have institutional mechanism in place, but only due to lack of dialogue and communication, farmers rely on private money lenders," he said.