TN credit potential for priority sector nears Rs 58,000 crore

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has estimated that the priority sector credit potential of Tamil Nadu for 2011-12 at Rs 57,831 crore, an increase of 21 per cent over the previous year. This includes short-term credit for crop loans, non-farm sector and other activities under the priority sector.

"While disbursement of crop loans exceeded the target in the last three years in Tamil Nadu, banks are not able to achieve the target towards term loan for agriculture,” said a senior Nabard official. In 2007-08, the target was Rs 4,523 crore (achieved Rs 2,525 crore), for 2008-09 it was Rs 5,224 crore (Rs 3,572 crore), for 2009-10 it was Rs 5,873 crore (Rs 3,552 crore) and for 2010-11, the target is Rs 6,437 crore.

Crop loan SAP (Service Area Plan) / GLC (Ground Level Credit) target for 2007-08 was Rs 12,834 crore but achievement was Rs 16,067 crore. Similarly for the year 2008-09, the target was Rs 14,603 crore (achieved Rs 17,436 crore), for 2009-10 it was Rs 16,659 crore (Rs 21,502 crore) and for 2010-11, Rs 19,322 crore.

Similarly, for non farm sector in 2008-09 target was Rs 8,751 crore while the achievement was Rs 8,261 crore, in 2009-10 the target was Rs 10,008 crore (achieved Rs 9,437 crore) and for 2010-11 the target is Rs 11,049 crore.

S Malathi, chief secretary, Tamil Nadu government, has called for increasing the cropping intensity by at least 150 per cent in the near future with better water and land management. Capital formation in agriculture has stagnated, she said, urging banks to provide finance for building cold-storage chains, infrastructure for marketing and value-addition.

Prakash Bakshi, executive director, Nabard, noted that in the past 15 years, the extent of cultivated area had declined by 1 million hectares in the state and only a fraction of farmers in the state got the benefit of agricultural insurance.

A large chunk of the state's credit potential in the priority sector is towards production and marketing and food security (crop loan) estimated at Rs 24,831.69 crore. For non-farm sector, it is Rs 12,312.35 crore and Rs 13,391.90 crore for other activities under the priority sector.

For development of investment credit in various agri sectors, the estimated fund requirement was: Rs 752.34 crore for water resources, Rs 562.93 crore for land development, Rs 1,146.65 crore for farm mechanisation, Rs 896.97 crore for plantation and horticulture, Rs 916.98 crore for dairy development and to the extent of Rs 1,510.59 crore for food and agro processing.