State to get Rs 37k cr credit

NABARD is giving additional assistance of Rs 6,000 crore to help flood victims

In its State focus paper which was launched in Bangalore on Wednesday, Nabard said it had arrived at the credit potential after taking into account the resource endowment of each district, institutional presence, availability of infrastructure, level of technology availability and adoption among others. The credit potential for 2009-10 stood at Rs 27,543 crore.

In fact, the credit potential which earlier had been fixed at Rs 31,254 crore for the fiscal was enhanced at the inaugural meeting on Wednesday by an additional Rs 6,000 crore by Nabard Chairman Umesh Chandra Sarangi.

As he felt additional credit was necessary to accommodate rescheduling of loans for farmers of north Karnataka devastated by floods and for capital formation in the farm sector.

SHGs

Later speaking to reporters, the chairman said Nabard has set a target of establishing one lakh self help groups for small and marginal farmers next year.  The setting of the SHGs will help farmers access loans from banks collectively, besides bring down the risk perception of banks, he said. The groups will also be trained on how to work and access inputs and capital together from banks.

He said Boston Consultancy Group (BCG), a management consulting firm, will soon commence consultations with Nabard to prepare a roadmap for its restructuring. He said Nabard will also undertake an overall repositioning exercise and is looking at various possibilities that make it a viable commercial entity.

Earlier, Chief Secretary S V Ranganath pointed out one of the reasons for the below national average growth rate in the State is due to the poor performance of the agriculture sector. Steps need to be taken to ensure that growth in the agriculture sector is sustained above four per cent, he said.

Additional Chief Secretary M R Srinivasa Murthy stressed the need for more focus on groundwater recharging and micro-irrigation to tap the high potential for increased agricultural productivity.

The State focus paper 2010-11 among others suggests the setting up of a compost production unit in each taluk for utilisation of agri wastes and enhancing institutional credit for dryland and watershed areas.

It has recommended that the government should put in place a regulatory mechanism for use of groundwater for agriculture purposes through participatory water management .

Sector/Dist-wise

Credit potential for major sectors

 * Production, marketing and food security: Rs 14,247 crore

* Water Resources: Rs 594 crore

* Land Development: Rs 654 crore

* Farm Mechanisation: Rs 787 crore

* Animal Husbandry: Rs 722 crore

* Non-farm sector: Rs 3,430 crore

District-wise credit potential (top five)

* Belgaum: Rs 2,653 crore

* Dakshina Kannada: Rs 2,411 crore

* Bagalkot: Rs 1,896 crore

* Bellary: Rs 1,789 crore
* Mysore: Rs 1,757 crore