The Hindu Business Line : AP: Crop loan target at Rs 23,500 cr

The State also set a disbursal target for term loans at Rs 9,000 crore. Addressing a press conference after releasing the comprehensive Agriculture Action Plan for 2009-10 here on Tuesday, Mr N. Raghuveera Reddy, Minister for Agriculture, said the State would focus on giving loans to tenant farmers, one of the most difficult issues the agriculture sector faced.

“We are asking the banks to give loans to at least 350 new farmers from each of their banks,” he said.

“We have begun forming joint liability groups with four or more tenant farmers as members. We have discussed this issue with the banks and persuaded them,” the Minister added. The State could, however, disburse crop loans only to the tune of Rs 16,469 crore last year, well below the target of Rs 20,000 crore. The kharif season proved to be a dampener with disbursals of Rs 8,169 crore as against the target of Rs 12,000 crore.

The State-level Bankers’ conference, scheduled for July 13, is expected to come out with the exact extent of crop loans the banks would sanction in 2009-10.

Crop area

With additional irrigation available from some Jalayagnam projects, the Government was targeting a crop area of 124 lakh hectares this year as against 121.46 lakh ha last year. This would include 82 lakh ha (80.90 lakh ha) in the kharif season.

“We are hopeful of achieving a foodgrain production of 215 lakh tonnes as against 205 lakh tonnes last year,” the Minister said.

Monsoon hopes

Mr Raghuveera Reddy, quoting weathermen, said that the rainfall deficit in the State had come down to -38 per cent from -48 per cent last week. “We have one more month for sowings. No need to worry,” he said.

On cloud seeding, he said the tender process would be completed in a day or two for the initiative this year. Last year, the Government spent Rs 22 crore on this programme.

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