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| Cooperative crop loan rate pegged at 5% |
| BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Berhampur Jun 02, 2009, 00:10 IST |
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The Orissa government has decided to continue giving crop loans to the farmers at the rate of 5 per cent in the cooperative sector, which is 2 per cent lower than the interest rate fixed by the Central government in the current Kharif season.
The Centre had announced an interest rate of 7 per cent on crop loans in the cooperative sector. Earlier, the Orissa State Cooperative Bank (OSCB) had instructed the District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) to revise the interest rate from 5 to 7 per cent in the kharif season. The decision, however, drew flak from several farmers’ organisations as well as the opposition political parties in the state.
The state government had reduced the interest rate on crop loans from 7 per cent to 5 per cent in the last Rabi season (October 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009) to boost agriculture credit in the cooperative sector. “The Orissa government has decided to continue with the 5 per cent interest rate on crop loans in the cooperative sector in the Kharif season”, said KC Mohanty, registrar of the state cooperative department. While the government has decided to cover 58.48 lakh hectares for cultivation of different crops including paddy, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane, vegetables and cotton during the Kharif season, the cooperative department has decided to provide a short-term crop loan of Rs 1,500 crore to the farmers through the Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS).
The total crop loan target for the year in the cooperative sector in the state was fixed at Rs 2,500 crore, which includes Rs 1,500 crore on Kharif crops and Rs 1.000 crore on Rabi crops. “With the reduction in interest rate on crop loans, we hope the farmers can avail the loan at the right time. The move is set to benefit many farmers as most of them avail cooperative loans”, he said.
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