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December 06, 2007 15:29 IST
The need of the hour for farmers in drought-hit areas is a four to five year credit cycle with an interest rate of around four per cent, said renowned agricultural scientist Dr M S Swaminathan.
Addressing the gathering at a function at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) in Hyderabad, Swaminathan said called for establishing a Rural Insurance Development Fund.
"As against the present yearly credit cycle, we need to have a 4-5 year cycle. The farmers also need credit at 4 per cent interest," he added.
Swaminathan said credit and insurance literacy was very low. "Hardly four per cent of farmers are taking part in insurance programmes," he said.
Calling for better use of funds being channelised to the 33 'distress districts', he wanted the government to identify areas with a high untapped agricultural potential and develop them into special agricultural zones.
While providing common service centres like Gyan choupals, he suggested that farmers should get access to integrated package of technology, service and infrastructure.
For this, the country should have the small farmer at focus while developing seeds and technological inputs for the farm sector.
On minimum support price, he said it was important to take into consideration cost escalation and prevailing national and international market price.
Cautioning against lackadaisical attitude, Swaminathan warned that the country's sovereignty might be at risk if it failed to take measures to protect its food security. "Prices of commodities are going up internationally. Unless we take steps to ensure food security, peace too will be at stake, leading to social issues like Naxalism," he said.
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