Crop loans to farmers under consideration: Minister

Uttarakhand government is mulling giving crop loans to farmers at 2 per cent interest rate and working on a slew of measures to double their income by 2020, state finance minister Prakash Pant said today.
The minister also sought cooperation of banks in achieving the goal.
"It has been decided to double the income of farmers by 2020. We are currently working on a slew of measures which can help us achieve this goal such as providing them seeds and fertilisers on time, making proper arrangements to ensure they get the correct price for their yield in the market place.

"We are also contemplating giving crop loans to them at the rate of two per cent. But, we can fulfill our commitment to farmers only with the co-operations of banks," Pant said.
Seeking the help of the banks in the state government's efforts to improve the lot of farmers, Pant asked them to increase their credit deposit ratio.