State banks more popular with farmers
Ishara MUDUGAMUWA
Over 90 percent of small scale farmers who cultivate big onions,
chillies and potatoes have obtained cultivation loans as government and
other leading banks are offering easy repayment terms for their loans, a
research conducted by the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agriculture Research and
Training Institute (HARTI) revealed.
“Banks earlier resorted to tough terms in granting loans. However,
banks have now relaxed their guidelines requiring two farmers who have
accounts in banks to stand in as guarantors for a loan”, a HARTI
spokesman said.
According to the research, a minimum of two loans were obtained by a
farmer by way of cash, services and goods.
Over 90 percent of the value of loans were obtained through formal
channels.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has also increased the number of loans
granted to farmers especially in the North and East to increase the
agriculture production and improve the living standards of farmers,
Assistant Governor W.M. Karunaratne said.
He said Prabodhini and Sarusara are some of the low interest loans
introduced among small scale farmers.
“Prabodhini was initiated in the Southern province and gradually
introduced to the North and East.
“More than 12,000 farmers in the North and East obtained loans under
the Sarusara loan scheme,” he said. |