Over 8 lakh new farmers linked with online crop loan system in Rajasthan

More than 8 lakh new farmers have been linked with online crop loan system to disburse cooperative crop loans in last one year in Rajasthan.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had given instructions to end discrimination in cooperative crop loan disbursement and to adopt uniform and transparent system and link new farmers so that they can get crop loans on zero per cent interest and get free from the clutches of moneylenders.

Implementing the policy, the Apex Cooperative Bank had launched online crop loan disbursement and registration scheme-2019 under which crop loans were disbursed to eligible farmers based on their biometric verification, Department of Cooperatives said in a statement.

So far, more than 21 lakh farmers have been linked to cooperative crop loan in the state, including 8 lakh new farmers, and they have got crop loan of more than 8,244 crore, it said.

According to the statement, 13 lakh old farmers were also linked with the new crop loan system.

More than 25 lakh farmers have applied for crop loan till date in the state. Of these, 21.20 lakh farmers were disbursed loans of Rs 4,583 crore in Kharif season and Rs 3,661 crore in Rabi season.

Approximately 7 lakh new farmers have also been disbursed crop loans, while the remaining farmers will be disbursed loans by March 31, 2020.

Under the Rajasthan Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme, loans of eligible farmers were waived through biometric verification.

Rajasthan government has waived farm loans of Rs 15,000 crore in 2018 and 2019. Approximately Rs 8,000 crore of loans of around 20 lakh farmers were waived under the scheme in 2019, it said.