At a time when Covid-19 induced Covid-19 crisis has made lending a challenging proposition, the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has secured a Euro 68.87 million (nearly Rs 600 crore) loan from Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank, for onward lending to cooperative societies in the country.
An agreement was inked between the NCDC, a development finance statutory institution under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, and the German Bank in this regard in the presence of Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar here on Tuesday.
On the occasion, a pact was also signed between the Kolkata-based Indian Chamber of Commerce and the NCDC, according to which India Inc will help boost farmers' linkages with markets and sell produce in the private sector.
Tomar said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given a new vision to India’s agrarian landscape and to her economic relations with Germany. He added that the Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) being set up in the country would be able to access easier credit and market through the NCDC agreements with ICC and Deutsche Bank. “This will help fill gaps and challenges being faced by the farmers and ultimately boost their income to make them self-reliant.”
This is for the first time that one of the largest European banks is lending to the NCDC. In a statement, Kaushik Shaparia, CEO & Country Head, Deutsche Bank AG, said that he looked forward to a robust relationship with NCDC in the agri space.
While Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal talked about financial steps taken in recent years to develop markets and boost farmers’ income, NCDC MD Sundeep Nayak said that the financing would help NCDC to assist farmers to make a successful pivot towards sustainable, climate-smart agriculture. “Right from our founding as an organisation since 1963 for co-operatives, we have always strived to support farmers in their journey to achieve sustainable livelihoods,” said the MD.
Cooperatives are not a new phenomenon for Germany. In fact, today, Germany’s 7,500 cooperative enterprises have more than 20 million members. India’s cooperatives too figure among the world’s top rankings. 94 per cent of Indian farmers are members of at least one cooperative.
Deutsche Bank’s initiative in India is just one of the many key business interests shown by German companies in India over the years. Today, more than 1700 German companies are active in India, providing around 4, 00,000 direct and indirect jobs. Germany is India's largest trading partner in Europe and among India's top ten global trade partners, said Shaparia.
Aditya Bagri, Co Chair of Indian Chamber of Commerce Committee on Agribusiness and Food Processing in a statement said that the ICC-NCDC MoU, would have a focus on exports promotion by FPOs.