WRDA stresses on the need for scientific warehouses

The Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) is organising a series of awareness programmes for farmers and other stakeholders such as banks to popularise the procedures for accreditation of warehouses and promote pledge financing against negotiable warehouse receipts.

At one such programme organised by Nabard in Coimbatore, WDRA Chairman Dinesh Rai emphasised the need for making scientific storage facilities available to farmers to enable them avoid distress sale and realise better price for their produce.

R Inigo Arul Selvan, Assistant General Manager, Nabard, said that the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund and the Warehousing Infrastructure Fund operated through Nabard supports construction of warehouses in the State.

The Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies, Cooperative Marketing Societies, TN Civil Supplies Corporation, State Agricultural Marketing Board and State Warehousing Corporation have constructed warehouses and increased their storage capacity with the support of Nabard in the last two-three years, he said.

The Managing Director of Coimbatore District Central Cooperative Bank Ramakrishnan said that steps were being taken for accrediting the large number of small godowns maintained by the PACS, so these godowns can issue negotiable warehouse receipts (NWR). He further said that pledge financing for small and marginal farmers against these NWRs could be issued at 7 per cent.

Banks meanwhile, have indicated their willingness to extend credit both for construction of warehouse and pledge financing against NWRs.

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