Odisha disbursed Rs 9,964.47 crore as farm credit: Official

The Odisha government has disbursed Rs 9,964.47 crore as farm credit and taken steps to ensure adequate supply of urea to the farmers for the Kharif season, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Altogether 14.08 lakh farmers have been enrolled for crop insurance coverage, Agriculture Secretary Saurabh Garg said.

"Farm credit amounting to Rs 9,964.47 crores have been disbursed by financial institutions benefitting 21 lakh farmers," Garg told reporters after a meeting of the agriculture department.

Steps are also being taken for ensuring smooth supply of urea and other fertilisers with the support of the central government and through rigorous monitoring, he said.

Stating that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was briefed about the Kharif season preparedness at the meeting, the official said that a programme for the season was made for 61.61 lakh hectare and 55.52 lakh hectare have already been covered.

Garg said that at present, 55,29,680 beneficiaries are eligible to get assistance under the On KALIA (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation), Garg said that at present, 55,29,680 beneficiaries are eligible to get assistance under the scheme which provides assistance to farmers for cultivation and livelihood support to landless agriculture households.

Similarly, BALARAM (Bhoomihina Agriculturist Loan & Resources Augmentation Model) scheme has been formulated in association with NABARD to augment the flow of credit to farmers cultivating land as sharecroppers, he said.

The target of the scheme is to form one lakh groups covering at least 5 lakh farmers mainly from among share croppers.