The Goan: DoesGoa face a problem with repayment of farm credit?
S DKulkarni: There are not many defaults to loan repayment in Goa ascompared to other states. The repayment for farm credit is about 25-30 percent. When you compare this to other states it is high.
TG: Why isfarm credit not picking up in the state?
SDK: One ofthe reasons could be due to the high interest rate, which is seven percent. Thesecond being unavailability of farm help. Other factors that may be contributing to thedecline in farm lending are small land holdings and no proper propertydocumentation. Most of the land in Goa is owned by absentee landlords. Inaddition, unlike mining and tourism, farming is not considered lucrative.
TG: HasNABARD been able to help any farmers with all these issues prevailing?
SDK: For this,we at Nabard are advocating the Joint Liability Group (JLG) programme. Mostfarmers are unable to avail credit as the land is not owned by them. Theproblem of an absentee landlord is rampant. The JLG programme offers creditwithout any mortgage or facility. Four or five farmers need to come together,the bank will take an affidavit stating that they are tenants and the loan willbe given. On the basis of this the State Bank of India (SBI) is giving upto Rsone lakh as loan amount.
TG: Doesn’tGoa need a proper agriculture policy to define all this?
SDK: Goa has an agriculture policy. But it is ad hoc. The state government needs to come out with aproper agriculture policy if it wants to see a six per cent growth in thesector. Just by dispersing money and offering subsidies to farmers is not goingto solve the problem. In fact, the money disbursed is not even equal to thecost of production. The government is not helping the farmers. There is nosustainability in this method.
