The objective of the scheme is to meet genuine short term crop production credit requirements of farmers to enable them to undertake crop cultivation on modern lines so that they can increase their farm production and productivity level. Finance can be considered for the following purposes:
Purchase of hybrid/ improved seeds, fertilizers, manures, insecticides, pesticides, weedicides, etc.
Hire charges of tractor and other farm machinery/ implements, wages of hired labour, irrigation charges/ cost of fuel or power for running pumpsets, etc.
Advance for storing the harvested produce for sale.
Advance for cultivation of commercial crops including horticulture and plantation crops.
Finance for multiplication of hybrid/ high yielding varieties of seeds.
Eligibility
Individual farmers, registered partnership firms, companies, registered farming co-operative societies who own/ possess agricultural land as owner, registered tenants or share croppers with recorded rights are eligible for finance.
They should be progressive & willing to adopt modern cultivation practices.
Farmers who are members of co-operative societies ceded to us, may be financed for crop production through such societies.
In case of seed multiplication programmes, the proponent farmer should be an owner cultivator with good land and assured irrigation facilities. He should be well experienced in seed production techniques. His experience and performance may be verified from the agency which supplies him the foundation seed and purchase the commercial seed from him.
Quantum of finance
Quantum of finance to a farmer is determined based on
Cropping pattern
Extent of cultivation of each crop; and
Scale of financed fixed for the crops.
Scale of finance is the finance required for raising a crop per unit cultivated area, i.e. acre or hectare. The scale of finance for different crops in a district is decided every year by District Level Technical Committee.
The District Central Co-operative Bank in the District acts as the Convener of this committee and all major banks in the District, State Agriculture Department officials, leading farmers, Lead District Managers, etc., act as its members. This committee which is a sub-committee of the DCC meets once in a year and fixes the scale of finance for each crop raised in the District. As per RBI guidelines, each Bank Branch is required to display the scale of finance in Branch premises.
