Kerala offers interest-free loans to paddy farmers

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Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 13 : Even as banks are readying for a repo-pushed rate hikes, the Kerala government has brought out an interest-free loan umbrella for paddy farmers. The facility now offered to Wayanad farmers will be extended to paddy cultivtors in five more districts. As much as Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for this scheme alone, agriculture minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran said.

The interest-free loan scheme for paddy cultivation is to be implemented through Kerala State Co-operative Bank. However, as the interest rates are heading north following repo rate hike, the State government’s costs for the food production incentive may also escalate.

“If more funds are found required for this specific, this will be provided, after debates at the full budget session of the Assembly meeting on June 23,” finance minister TM Thomas Isaac said. The finanial policy of the LDF government was to improve the quality of expenditure by pushing up the capital expenditure and tightbelting the revenue expenditure.

The State targets to produce at least 12 lakh tonne paddy next year. At present, Kerala produces only 6.35 lakh tonne paddy per year now, against the State’s annual consumption of 30 lakh tonne rice.

To rev up agricultural production in non-paddy segment too, the State government has announced another project ‘Subhikshakeralam’. Various production-incentives, group farming initiatives under this scheme will get going from mid-July. “Already the negative trend in agriculure growth in Kerala has been reversed,” Ratnakaran said.