The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has estimated a credit flow potential of Rs 52,168.11 crore under the priority sector in Karnataka for 2012-13, an increase of 26.9 per cent over 2011-12. The share of crop loan formed 46.6 per cent of the estimated potential, followed by other priority sector at 27.3 per cent, agricultural term loan at 18.8 per cent and non-farm sector at 7.3 per cent.
The State Focus Paper for 2012-13 has been prepared keeping in view the approach of the 12th Five Year Plan that envisages ‘faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth’. The SFP prepared by Nabard contains the aggregation of exploitable credit potential estimated for all districts of the state for the ensuing year. The document contains interventions required at various levels, in policy, infrastructure and credit for harnessing the potentials identified.
The estimates have been brought out by Nabard in its State Focus Paper (SFP) 2012-13 which will be discussed by at the State Credit Seminar being held on December 27, 2011. B S Shekhawat, executive director, Nabard, would be making a presentation on the SFP at the seminar. Karnataka’s chief secretary, S V Ranganath would release the focus paper.
Some of the thrust areas identified in the document are development of warehousing facilities, implementation of the Handloom weavers’ package of Government of India, creation of additional infrastructure through Nabard’s Infrastructure Development Assistance (NIDA), emphasis on community participation programmes like Umbrella Programme for Natural Resources Management (UPNRM) and watershed activities, setting up of dedicated institutions for SHG financing, enhancing agri-extension facilities by setting up Agri-Hubs on a PPP mode, improving production and productivity through programmes like SRI and Lead Crop Schemes, that are being piloted in the state and creation of a separate fund by Nabard for financing producers’ organisations for credit support, marketing linkages and capacity building. For 2012-13, Nabard has assessed the potential for credit flow to crop loan sector at Rs 24,290.13 crore, a growth of 39.27 per cent over 2011-12. The actual credit flow to Crop Loan Sector for 2010-11 was Rs 17,982.25 crore.
The potential assessed for extending credit to water resources sector during the next fiscal is Rs 1,096 crore, as against Rs 1,088 crore for the present fiscal. The actual flow during 2010-11 was Rs 1,054.59 crore. For the farm mechanisation, the Nabard has assessed the potential for finance at Rs 1,253.17 crore as against the target for the present fiscal at Rs 1,666.42 crore. It has also estimated a credit potential of Rs 1,870 crore for the plantation sector including horticulture and sericulture, which is a growth of 56.48 per cent over the present year’s target of Rs 1,195 crore.
Nabard’s SFP for 2012-13 has also estimated a credit potential to the animal husbandry sector at Rs 930 crore, a growth of 68.4 per cent over the target of present fiscal, 2011-12. For the food and agro processing sector, the credit potential is estimated at Rs 1,224.34 crore, Rs 636 crore for financing the construction of storage godowns and market yards and Rs 799.71 crore for other sectors. The credit flow under the non-food sector and other priority sectors has been estimated at Rs 3,801 crore and Rs 14,228 crore for the year 2012-13.