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Major Findings:
• Branches did not have complete set of information about the schemes being run by the line
departments. Lack of flow of relevant information to branches led to their remaining largely blind to
the changes taking place in the business environment.
• Bankers in many cases lack required confidence level in farmers who are proposing to take dairy,
poultry and horticulture activities and approaching banks for loans to manage such projects.
• Awareness level among the farmers was very low which has suppressed the credit demand.
• Farmers in the villages were found to be ignorant about the availability of Govt. support and
incentives.
• Farmers interacted during the study were largely found to have been covered by the KCC scheme
and large proportion of farmers approached bank for credit support under indentified activities but
they couldn’t get a loan as they found the requirements of banks as cumbersome.
• Lack of integration or convergence of Govt. schemes with the Banks schemes.
• Availability of insurance service was a major impediment in promotion of poultry sector.
• Lack of mushroom spawn and fish seed was observed at Hazaribagh district and there were or few
instances of private agencies are supplying substandard seed from West Bengal
Major Recommendations:
• All stakeholders, viz, GoJ, Banks, NGOs need to provide for in their policies and programmes a
special status to the FPOs so as to nurture and strengthen them. Hence, banks are required to take
pro-active steps so as to develop a relationship with FPOs in their respective areas of operation right
from the beginning.
• The banks need to closely align and integrate themselves with the developments taking place in
the external environment, viz, improvement in irrigation potential, rural connectivity, improvement
in market linkages, improvement in agricultural practices as a result of implementation of Govt.
schemes, etc. at district level so as to be able to tap the additional accredit potentials created by such
factors. The DLCCs / DLRCs or their special sub-committees on agriculture need to specifically mull
these aspects extensively in their meetings.
• Area Based Banking Plans pertaining to potential sectors, viz, dairy, poultry, fisheries, irrigation, etc.
prepared by NABARD have the potential to become yet another growth driver for investment credit
under agriculture sector. It needs to be owned-up by all the stakeholders, viz, line departments
(agriculture / dairy development / animal husbandry / fisheries, etc), bank branches, district
administration, technical institutions / NGOs, etc. and implemented in the identified pockets with
full vigour in a mission mode.
• A small advisory-cum monitoring group may be constituted at state level with participation from
major stakeholders like Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development
departments.
• Deptt., SLBC, major banks andNABARD to facilitate a convergence of Govt.’s subsidy linked schemes
with banks’ schemes and to ensure a prompt and effective transmission of awareness amongst banks
and avoidance of information gaps, if any, regarding availability of subsidies under various schemes.
