TS wants banks to give long-term crop loans

HYDERABAD:  State Commission for Debt Relief Chairman Nagurla Venkateshwarlu urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to treat agriculture on par with the MSME sector. He also said security-free long-term crop loans up to Rs 4 lakh should be provided to all eligible farmers.

In a letter to Sitharaman on Tuesday, Venkateshwarlu said providing crop loans liberally, as instructed by the RBI, would reduce farmers’ dependence on private money lenders. The Chairman said on an average farmers pay Rs 36,000 interest on every Rs 1 lakh of crop loan. 

But, if banks provide the loans, the annual interest payable would be only Rs 11,000, he said.  If they provide long-term loans up to Rs 4 lakh, farmers can clear their debts with private money lenders and start afresh, Venkateshwarlu said.  Providing crop loans liberally would also help achieve national food security, he added.