Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, in his address at the State Level “Cooperative Banking Seva and Runa Karmasala” held at the M S Swaminathan Hall of OUAT in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday praised the Cooperation Department for providing services to farming families at various levels and emphasized the importance of credit for agriculture.
Patnaik stated that the lion’s share of crop loans are given by cooperative banks and that the state government is providing loans up to 1 lakh per annum at zero interest to benefit farmers. He urged farmers to take advantage of this opportunity and participate in agricultural development.
It is pertinent to mention that over 32 lakh small and marginal farmers can avail the facility of zero interest loan.
The Cooperation Department has planned State and district level events/workshops and public relations campaigns in rural areas to inform farmers about the services provided by cooperatives and agricultural cooperatives and to create awareness of the available services. A state level workshop was held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Cooperation Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak.
During the event, Nayak emphasized on door-step banking through cooperatives. He suggested to make loan disbursement more smoother for farmers and advised officials to work towards bringing farmer into the fold of cooperative societies.
Attending the workshop, Development Commissioner-cum-APC Pradeep Jena highlighted the significant role of cooperative banks in Odisha’s agriculture development and stressed the importance of on-time credit for farmers to access quality seeds and supplies.
Sanjeev Kumar Chadha, Principal Secretary of the Department, spoke about the importance of credit for agriculture and emphasized the need to address the disbursement of term loans. He asserted on the capacity building of PACS members and officials.
The cooperatives in Odisha, that have been active for the past 100 years, include a three-tier automatic cooperative system comprising Odisha State Cooperative Bank, 17 District Central Cooperative Banks, and 2,711 Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies. These provide banking and credit facilities to people living in rural areas, such as farmers, labourers, weavers, and fishermen, among others.
Cooperative Banks and Agricultural Cooperatives provide a range of services to the people of Odisha. These include registration of society, issuance of Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) for agriculture and allied activities, supply of agricultural inputs and implements, provision of loan facilities to the landless and share croppers, providing deposit and money collection services to rural farmers and public through cooperative bank branches and primary agriculture cooperatives, and more.
To make agriculture easier and more affordable for farmers, especially small and marginal farmers, the state government is providing necessary interest concessions for disbursing agricultural loans up to Rs 1 lakh at 0% interest and from Rs 1 lakh to 3 lakh at 2% interest. The core banking solutions of primary agricultural cooperatives have been computerized to provide hassle-free and high-quality banking and credit services to farmers and the public.
The state government’s efforts to promote cooperative banking and credit facilities are expected to provide a boost to agriculture and rural development in Odisha.
