Govt Launches Rs 1,000-Crore Scheme to Ease Post-Harvest Loans for Farmers

Union food minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday launched a Rs 1,000 crore credit guarantee scheme to help farmers easily access post-harvest loans by leveraging electronic warehouse receipts.

The scheme aims to reduce banks' reluctance to lend against electronic negotiable warehouse receipts (e-NWRs) issued by Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) registered repositories.

"We have provided a corpus fund of Rs 1,000 crore. The objective is to encourage banks to lend loans with a liberal approach," the minister said at the scheme's launch.

Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra highlighted the significant potential for expansion, noting that current post-harvest lending stands at just Rs 40,000 crore out of total agricultural lending of Rs 21 lakh crore. Currently, lending against e-NWRs is a mere Rs 4,000 crore.

"We are hoping that post-harvest lending will grow to Rs 5.5 lakh crore over the next 10 years," Chopra said, emphasising that the target is achievable with coordinated efforts from the banking and warehousing sectors.

The secretary also stressed the need to streamline the e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi online platform, create awareness among farmers about pledge financing, review depository charges and increase warehouse registrations beyond the current 5,800.

B L Verma and Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, who are ministers of state for food and consumer affairs, were present at the event. WDRA Chairperson Anita Praveen was also present.

The scheme aims to make agricultural financing more accessible and supportive of farmers' economic needs.