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Crop loan for kharif sowing: Only Rs 22,770 cr disbursed to 30L Maharashtra farmers

"The financial condition across the rural belt is worrying. Farmers are worst affected as they don't have cash. The fall in farm produce prices in last four months has wrecked their lives," said Shetkari Sanghatana president Anil Ghanwat.

Maharashtra news, Maharashtra farmers, CCTV cameras, data tampering, Maharahstra automatic weather stations, Indian express news

Kumar admitted the question of installing CCTV cameras has not risen in the past. “We will have to take measures to safeguard the AWSs,” he said. (Representational)

Farmers in Maharashtra have been forced to take up fresh kharif sowing after seeds supplied to them failed to germinate, but their access to crop loan from banks remains low. As against the target of Rs 45,785 crore, crop loan disbursed till the first week of August to 30 lakh farmers for the kharif season was Rs 22,770 crore, or only 50 per cent has been disbursed.

“The financial condition across the rural belt is worrying. Farmers are worst affected as they don’t have cash. The fall in farm produce prices in last four months has wrecked their lives,” said Shetkari Sanghatana president Anil Ghanwat.

Maharashtra has 1.52 crore farmers and only 30 lakh farmers have received crop loan. The number is worrisome considering that 78 per cent farmers constitute small and marginal farmers who cannot attend to fields without adequate financial backing from banks.

Crop loan disbursed through commercial banks stands at Rs 11,196 crore against the target of Rs 32,524 crore. Crop loan disbursed by district cooperative banks stands at Rs 11,574 crore against the target of Rs 13,261 crore.

While admitting that crop loan disbursement stood at 50 per cent in the current kharif season, an official said that it was still 11 per cent higher than the last kharif season. In 2019, sanctioned crop loan was Rs 43,844 crore, while Rs 17,052 crore was disbursed, or 39 per cent of the target. Last year, 22 lakh farmers had availed crop loans.

Minister for Cooperation Balasaheb Patil said that compared to national banks, district cooperative banks have been pro-active in giving crop loans to eligible farmers.

First uploaded on: 11-08-2020 at 03:28 IST

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Maharashtra farmers

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