The State government has planned to ensure disbursal of crop loans to the tune of Rs.2,500 crore through primary agricultural credit cooperative societies for the year 2010-11.
Against this year’s target of Rs.2,000 crore, a sum of Rs.1,729.39 crore had been disbursed as on January 15, according to K. Shanmugam, Principal Secretary of Food, Civil Supplies and Cooperation Department.
For the corresponding period in the previous year, Rs.1,203.97 crore was disbursed.
Totally, Rs.1,570.99 crore was disbursed during 2008-09, the Cooperation Department’s Policy Note for 2009-10 stated.
Of the amount disbursed during 2009-10, farmers of the Cuddalore district received Rs.131.47 crore (target for the full year: Rs.160 crore); Villupuram – Rs.122.86 crore (Rs.170 crore); Erode – Rs.117.67 crore (Rs.125 crore); Vellore – Rs.103.32 crore (Rs.120 crore) and Tiruvannamalai – Rs.100.84 crore (Rs.135 crore).
The districts of Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur, comprising the composite Thanjavur district, accounted for Rs.74.16 crore, Rs.59.07 crore and Rs.65.17 crore against the targets of Rs.70 crore, Rs.55 crore and Rs.60 crore.
In 2008-09, the total volume of crop loans issued by different institutions, including commercial and regional rural banks, was Rs.17,435.71 crore, according to the State Focus Paper prepared by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for 2010-11.
The crop loans issued by the cooperative institutions accounted for nine per cent.
The figures of crop loans disbursed by cooperative institutions for 2006-07 and 2007-08 were Rs.1,253.48 crore and Rs.1,426.24 crore while those of total crop loans were Rs.13,770.12 crore and Rs.16,066.69 crore.
For 2009-10, the total volume of crop loans was projected as Rs.16,743.99 crore. The NABARD, in its document for the coming financial year, has mentioned that the potential for crop loans is Rs.16,108.62 crore, representing about 34 per cent of the State’s overall figure of potential for bank credit.