Dr’s farm prescription: Debt relief, credit cover

When the Prime Minister hits the road in Vidarbha tomorrow, he will unveil a package for 31 districts in four states, including six districts in Vidarbha.

When the Prime Minister hits the road in Vidarbha tomorrow, he will unveil a package for 31 districts in four states, including six districts in Vidarbha.

This is a toned-down version of the package the Agriculture Ministry had proposed. A key element, agriculture insurance, hasn’t been worked out as yet. The salient points of the package expected to range from Rs 13,000 to Rs 21000 crore:

• Debt relief: Interest rates will be waived for marginal farmers. For others, interest rates would be extended to a period of 5-7 years. This would ensure that farmers who are defaulters and cannot claim a fresh round of credit, become eligible once again. This will have a cut-off date of June 30, 2006.

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• Complete credit cover: Special drives, camps to ensure that every farmer is covered under loan. Cooperatives responsible for 80% credit disbursement in Maharashtra would be infused with money so that there is no delay in disbursement. NABARD to take special audit of sick cooperative banks.

• Irrigation: All assured irrigation schemes, major or minor, would be covered in a time-bound manner. Watershed management, construction of required checkdams and 500 water harvesting structures per district per year would be done.

Also 15,000 hectares per district per year would be brought under Participatory Watershed Management and Treatment.

• Citrus emphasis: Under the National Horticulture Mission Programme, a Technology Mission on citrus will be set up to address problems of citrus production, post-harvest technology and processing under the supervision of National Research Centre on Citrus.

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• Alternatives: Special attention to dairying, fisheries and livestock through a mixture of subsidy and bank loans. High-yielding variety of cows and buffaloes.

• Inputs: Seeds will be provided at a discounted rate and a mechanism to ensure that hybrids and genuine seeds are available at subsidised rates for farmers in these districts.

• Monitoring: To ensure time-bound implementation of the package, setting up of state-level committees for coordination and supervision, including representatives from the Government of India.

The package will be implemented through district-level committees and Panchayati Raj institutions. Special cooperatives/community-based organisations will be created.