In what comes as a relief to farmers, the BDCC bank (Bidar District Central Cooperative bank), for the first time on Friday (27/01/2016), announced that it will offer loans to farmers for sowing the Rabi crop. This move follows an instruction by the Zilla Panchayat that farmers should be given loans in two separate sets in a year. The 95 year old BDCC bank has always given loans to farmers during the Kharif season (South West Monsoon season) while the lending of loans to farmers during the Rabi season (North East Monsoon season) has been inconsistent. Read more on Banks
The BDCC bank officials admitted that the bank has been reluctant to give loans to farmers during the Rabi season since the drought of 1994.
“Actually, Rabi lending has not been a regular feature at all. We achieved the targets each year by one time lending through the medium-term loans”, a senior officer said.
Bank officials say that more farmers cultivate during the Kharif season and it needs more investments for inputs and labor than during the returning monsoon.
“Those who opt for Rabi cultivation are those with large land holdings and irrigation facilities. Only a third of the land is cultivated during the Rabi season”, Agriculture Department officials said.
“We don’t differentiate between lending for Kharif and Rabi. We lend to farmers anytime through Kisan Credit Cards. We tell them that they can renew their loans on any of the 365 days of the year. But by force of habit, farmers tend to take or repay loans only during the Kharif season”, Umakanth Nagamarapalli, chairman of BDCC bank said.
Nobody on Earth can live without food. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that farmers are well supported and funded by the banks of India and by the Government of India so that they flourish and earn a decent living. Loans should be given to farmers anytime they want to support their requirements. In that regard, the steps taken by BDCC bank are truly welcome. The Government of India must ensure that other Government banks follow suite and support farmers. As the old proverb goes: ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’. Read more on Startup News
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