To improve farmers’ income, the public sector banks (PSBs) have given farm credit to the tune of Rs 34.50 lakh crore in the last four years of the Narendra Modi regime. The disbursement is closed to the target of Rs 35.50 lakh crore set by the Government.
The banks have already disbursed Rs 6.25 lakh crore to 3.63 crore farmers (till September 2017) as the target is of Rs 10 lakh crore set by the Government. In other words, an average of Rs 1.63 lakh disbursed to each farmer having account in the bank.
The Government data further showed that the banks have disbursed loan to farmers to the tune of Rs 10.65 lakh crore in the fiscal 2016-17. The Government had targeted to distribute Rs 9 lakh crore as farm credit while the actual disbursal was almost 118.42 per cent more at Rs 10.65 lakh crore.
Similarly, the Government had targeted to distribute around Rs 8.50 lakh crore to farmers while the actual disbursal was Rs 9.15 lakh crore in 2015-16. This means the actual distribution was almost 108 per cent more during the same period. In 2014-15, the banks distributed Rs 8.45 lakh crore as farm credit while it had targeted Rs 8 lakh crore.
Sources said the Government fixes agriculture credit disbursement targets for the banking sector every year. In 2017-18, the target was fixed at Rs 10 lakh crore. The amount was increased to Rs 11 lakh crore in 2018-19 Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in February this year.
The data further stated that over 3.63 crore farmers having accounts in public sector banks and nationalised banks have been benefitted from agriculture credit in 2017.
The number of beneficiaries have been decreased in 2017 as compared to 3.88 crore farmers benefitted in 2016. According to sources, the numbers of beneficiary were decreased in 2017 after the government decision to link all short-term crop loan accounts with Aadhaar. In 2015, 3.47 crore farmers have been benefitted from agriculture credit facility.
Normally, farm loan attracts an interest rate of 9 per cent. But the Government has been providing interest subvention to make available short-term farm credit at an affordable rate and help boost farm output. The Government is providing 2 per cent interest subsidy to ensure farmers get short-term farm loan of up to Rs 3 lakh at an effective rate of 7 per cent per annum. An additional incentive of 3 per cent is being given to farmers for prompt repayment of loans within due date, making an effective interest rate for them at 4 per cent.
A senior officer of the Agriculture Ministry said the Government’s priority is agriculture and farm sector to boost farmers’ income in view of coming lok Sabha elections next year.
“Since credit is a critical input in achieving higher farm output, the institutional credit will help delink farmers from non-institutional sources of credit,” he said.
When asked, Binod Pandey, secretary general of Rashtirya Kisan Mahasangh, said that the actual disbursal of farm credit has been exceeding the targeted limits since the last few years, but how much of this actually goes for the benefit of small and marginal farmers remains to be seen.