Agriculture loan NPAs
rise by 15%
With
the prolonged monsoon and erratic rainfall, several farmers suffered crop
losses. Consequently, bad loans in the agriculture sector rose in FY 2022.
According
to the latest report by State Level
Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) tabled at the 173rd SLBC meeting in Ahmadabad on Tuesday, non-performing assets
in agriculture loans stood at Rs 6,572
crore in financial year 2021-22.
Bad
loans in agriculture grew from Rs 5,696
crore in 2020-21, up 15% in the
current fiscal year. NPAs in crop loans stood at Rs 2,808 crore, and in agriculture
loans at Rs 3,764 crore in the current fiscal.
Cotton farmers
incurred major losses according to estimates from bankers due to erratic
rainfall and reduced cotton production this year. Sagar Rabari of Khedut Ekta Manch said, “Last year, the monsoon was
erratic. While Cyclone Tauktae and rain after it caused sowing to start on
time, the second half of June and all of July were dry. Consequently, crop
quality and yield was affected. Moreover, the extended rains led to crop
failure in parts of Gujarat. With crop quality affected, earnings of farmers
reduced.”
“On
the other hand, input costs went up. With higher prices of pesticide,
fertilizer and seeds, costs went up and farmers’ incomes went down. The bad
loan burden thus increased,” said Rabari.
Among
the crops other than cotton which witnessed destruction or bad quality due to
erratic rainfall were groundnut and wheat.
Advances
for agriculture loans rose up from Rs
94,839 crore to Rs 1.03 lakh crore in the said period.
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