MP to provide loans to farmers at 1% interest rate

Last Updated: Saturday, January 15, 2011, 22:21

Tags: MP, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, loan

Bhopal: In the wake of reports of farmers committing suicides in Madhya Pradesh due to crop failure and mounting debts, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday announced that the state will give loans to farmers at one per cent interest rate from next fiscal.

"Madhya Pradesh will be the first state in the country to provide loans to farmers at one per cent interest rate from the next financial year," Chouhan said in a meeting with farmers' delegation at his residence here.

The Chief Minister also announced that from now on, compensation will be given "crop-wise".

For instance, for tuar and vegetables, the farmers will get a compensation of Rs 11,000 per hectare if crop is damaged, while for a fruit-bearing tree, it will be Rs 350 apiece.

The government has also decided to waive interest on loans to farmers for the current year, while it will be three per cent on the existing loans from the next year, he said.

As to the loans given by unlicensed money-lenders, he said that those who try to recover dues forcibly from the farmers will be "sent to jail".

The government is going to fix the rate of interest for the loans offered by the licenced money-lenders.

PTI

First Published: Saturday, January 15, 2011, 22:21

Comments

DG Bokare - PUNE
I have full appreciation for this revolutionary decision of the CM of MP. This is most appropriate decision to make farming activity more economical and also to save the farmers from the clutches of local money-lenders. I have been recommending zero rate of interest and provision for the loss in the state`s budgets. This is the only way to get rid of money-lenders who have been exploiting farming community for ages and forcing them to commit suicides in large numbers. Central Govt should take a clue from this and start zero-rate of interest on loans to all farmers from this year to save farming and farmers. But I have my own doubts about this since the budgets of Central Govt are approved by industry lobby and World Bank/IMF. PM/FM has no courage to incorporate this change in his next budget as that will disturb their relations with captains of industry. PM/FM always address the meetings of FICCI, CII etc but never address the meetings of farmers who form more than 65% of population of our country.
India is going to suffer food scarcity very soon. Unless we save farmers from difficulty, we will be the sufferers. The CM of MP should also do one more thing for farmers by declaring cost of production + 20$ profit as support prices for all farm products with immediate effect. This will be a another revolutionary move to save the farming activity and community. Else they will commit suicides regularly.