Chennai, Oct 7 (IANS) Farmers across Tamil Nadu can purchase seeds, fertilisers and other agricultural inputs against cash payments through primary agricultural cooperative credit societies, with prices capped at the maximum retail price, the Cooperation Department said.
The department said arrangements had been made through all such societies in the state to help farmers obtain the inputs required for crop cultivation. The provision is intended to extend the benefit of the cooperative supply network to all farmers.
Primary agricultural cooperative credit societies provide short-term crop loans to farmers. Alongside this lending, they supply and distribute inputs, including seeds and chemical fertilisers, as part of the crop loan assistance available through the cooperative system.
The department said farmers who are not members of these societies could enrol and avail themselves of crop loans at low interest rates.
Membership would also enable them to access the seeds and fertilisers supplied through the societies. The statement outlined two means of obtaining agricultural inputs: supplies provided as part of crop loans and purchases made by paying cash.
Under the cash purchase arrangement, the amount charged for seeds, fertilisers and other inputs must not exceed their prescribed maximum retail price. By making inputs available for cash payments, the department seeks to ensure that farmers can benefit from supplies distributed through primary agricultural cooperative credit societies.
The announcement covers societies throughout Tamil Nadu rather than those in any particular district. For farmers seeking borrowing support, the department pointed to the existing short-term crop loan facility.
Those outside the cooperative membership network were encouraged to join a society and use the lending and input supply services available to members. The department reiterated that the societies serve both as providers of agricultural credit and as distribution points for cultivation materials.
Seeds and fertilisers form part of the assistance they offer farmers for raising crops. The statement did not specify the interest rates applicable to crop loans, the quantities of inputs available or the documents required for membership. It also did not set out a separate timetable for the cash sale arrangements. Its central assurance was that arrangements had been made across the cooperative network for farmers to obtain cultivation inputs through cash payments at prices within the prescribed MRP, alongside the crop loan and input distribution facilities already offered by the societies.
–IANS
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