424
(ii)
Again, the role of institutional agencies in farmer indebtedness differs
from state to state. A few case studies are interesting; these states have
vastly divergent pictures:
State
Indebtedness
Institutional Agencies Non-InstitutionalAgencies
Andhra Pradesh 82 per cent (high)
27 per cent (low)
73 per cent (high)
Bihar
33 per cent (low)
37 per cent (low)
63 per cent (high
Maharashtra 55 per cent (moderate)
85 per cent (high)
15 per cent (low)
West Bengal
50 per cent (moderate)
68 per cent (high)
32 per cent (low)
The cases of Maharashtra and West Bengal are showing high formal
credit because of the role of cooperatives.
Disparities Amongst Social Groups
The proportions of households indebtedness are generally low
amongst schedule castes and scheduled tribes (Table 8).
Table 8: Percentage Distribution of All Farmer Households by Social Group in
Different States as per NSS 59th Round Survey (Jan-Dec 2003)
States
Scheduled
Tribe
Scheduled
Caste
Other
Backward
Class
Others
Estimated
Number of
Farmer House-
Holds in Million
All-India
13.3
(10.0)
17.5
(18.0)
41.5
(43.9)
27.6
(28.1)
89.35
(43.42)
Estimated no.of hhs
(mn)
11.92
(4.33)
15.59
(7.83)
37.04
(19.05)
24.69
(12.20)
89.35
(43.42)
Note:
Data in brackets pertains to that of indebted farmer households.
Declining share of institutional sources
As per the AIDIS, almost all states have experienced reductions in
the share of debt from institutional agencies in respect of their
cultivator
households from 1991 to 2002. There is a singular exception in Maharashtra
which has enjoyed a rise in the share from 81.8 per cent in 1991 to 85.2 per
cent in 2002. Interestingly, this has happened because of a sharp rise in the
share of cooperative credit, whereas the share of commercial banks has steeply
fallen during the period. Even at the all-India level, the share of cooperatives
has risen, while that of commercial banks eroded rather sharply.
Relative Roles of Cooperatives and Commercial Banks
The relevant data bring out the relative roles of commercial banks as
distinguished from cooperatives within the formal sources of farmers’ debt. The
first revelation in these data is that commercial banks dominate in providing
debt to farmers: 61.7 per cent against 34 per cent of cooperatives. Amongst
