Efforts to free farmers from interest on storage of goods in warehouses

13-Jan-2025 03:34 PM

The Union Agriculture Minister has outlined several initiatives to support farmers and alleviate their financial burdens. One of the key efforts is to ensure that farmers do not have to pay interest for storing their produce in warehouses for two to three months.

To achieve this, the Agriculture Ministry has requested the Union Finance Minister to allow payments to farmers based on warehouse receipts.

This measure aims to reduce the gap between the prices farmers receive for their produce and the prices consumers pay, which could also help control inflation.

Additionally, the Central Government has launched the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Pledge Financing (CGS-NPF), which is linked to Electronic-Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (e-NWR).

This initiative provides post-harvest financial assistance to farmers by guaranteeing loans against these receipts, with a fund of Rs 1000 crore allocated for this purpose.

Another notable step is the government’s decision to bear the transportation costs for fruits and vegetables procured through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), recognizing the high costs of transportation for these goods.

The government remains committed to increasing farmers' incomes and will continue to implement measures for their welfare.