-The Hindu Most of the earnings of the average farm household were spent in meeting consumption expenditures. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a slew of measures in the Union Budget 2017 to boost the agriculture sector. Higher agricultural credit, higher allocation for irrigation projects, a crop insurance scheme and increased allocations for MGNREGA to dig farm ponds were among the measures announced on February 1. But will these help attain the goal...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Towards less-cash agriculture: Well before demonetisation, low credit-driven model came up in Dewas -Vivian Fernandes
-The Financial Express In Madhya Pradesh’s tribal districts of Dewas and Khargone, the NGO, Samaj Pragati Sahayog, discourages cash transactions for agricultural inputs. The interest rates are usurious and vary according to commodities. For fertiliser, it is dheda—loan for the stuff has to be repaid 1.5 times over by the end of the harvest season. For pesticides it is sawa, or 1.25 times. Even barter can be extortionate. One quintal of...
More »World Bank to fund reclamation of saline lands in Maharashtra -Rahul Wadke
-The Hindu Business Line Mumbai: The World Bank will fund a Maharashtra government project for reclaiming saline lands, spread over 5 lakh hectares affecting 1,000 villages in the State. A significant percentage of the lands are in the farmer’s suicide-prone Vidarbha region. The project is a part of the larger umbrella project called Climate Resistant Agriculture, which will receive ?4,000 crore joint funding from the Bank and Maharashtra government. The World Bank will provide...
More »Note recall most hurtful: Farmers
-The Telegraph New Delhi: A nationwide network of farmers today dubbed the demonetisation exercise "the most hurtful scheme since independence" and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pledges for the agriculture sector announced on December 31 were "a rehash of what already exists". The network of farmers' associations and representatives from across the country said in a letter sent to the Prime Minister that the demonetisation move had shown a "dismaying disregard"...
More »Usurers cash in as bank loans to farmers dry up -Bhavika Jain
-The Times of India MUMBAI: Demonetisation seems to have helped private moneylenders in Maharashtra. Of the Rs 13,558 crore of loans required for the rabi season, banks could disburse only about Rs 2,400 crore (18%), due to shortage of cash. Besides, there are restrictions on district cooperative banks (DCCBs). Officials said the crisis gave moneylenders an opportunity to get rid of defunct notes as loans were disbursed in old notes and they...
More »