production because during this period crops
get good sunlight. In 2011-12 computer
generated methodology was introduced for
farm crop management for which a farmer
database was created containing personal
contact details, land details and other
cultivation details. The state has 12,600
fertilizer dealers, 8700 seed dealers and
8080 computerised and online government
seed distribution depots.
We have tie-up with Tamil Nadu
eGovernance agency and have developed
a mobile app, ‘Ulavar’ which means farmer
in Tamil. Around 4.5 lakh farmers have
downloaded this app and are effectively
using it. The app provides real time
information about seed availability at the
private and government outlets. We have
also made interface with the ministry of
fertilizers. If a farmer wants details of
the nearby retail fertilizer shop, all the
contact details are available in the app.
We have covered 5.2 million farmers in
the last 3 years in PMFBY scheme and
we have dispersed around Rs503 billion
through this scheme. The farmers are
coming forward to take this scheme. We
are advising all the financial institutions to
guide farmers about crop insurance.
We are also implementing the
government of India’s innovative schemes
like the micro- irrigation schemes. We
give 100% assistance to all the farmers.
Of the 7.9 million farmers in the state, we
have covered 30% and remaining will be
covered in the next year
In 2018, the collective farming
scheme has been introduced by the Tamil
Nadu government. NABARD’s Rural
Infrastructure Development Fund, which
has been not utilized properly, can actually
lead to the uplift of the farmers.
Sreepathy S, DGM, NABARD
NABARD is financing rural
infrastructure. We are sanctioning the
proposals that come from the state
government. There is a need for educating
the farmers and creating awareness about
capacity building through FIGS and
FPS. The central and state governments
have put lot of efforts on infrastructure
development, but usage is not at the
desired level. NABARD has taken
initiatives to protect the interests of the
farmers so that they receive the right
price for their products. We have different
channels for funding warehouse and
infrastructure as also for providing credit
facility to the farmers. NABARD has taken
a developmental role in the credit part and
we are requesting banks to finance the
farmers. We have flexible policies and we
have taken feedback from all the sources
for policy formulation. Bankers are scared
because of the continuous rise of NPAs.
They have introduced agri credit but have
failed in creating documentation.Sridhar Kalyanasundaram, CEO, Suraaj
Risk & Resilience Management Consultants
NABARD has schemes which they
want to implement through financial
institutions like banks, NBFCs, etc, but
NABARD needs to look the other way
also. What about NABARD refinancing
schemes? NABARD needs to change its
model for the schemes and should focus
on innovative refinance schemes.P. Sudhaker, CEO & founder, Shakti Capital
Famers’ inability to repay loans is
the biggest problem faced by financial
institutions. They are now tying up
with farm-based corporates to lend to
the farmers. This model has worked for
them. The Tamil Nadu government and
the department of agriculture should
instruct banks and financial institutions
to charge PMFBY scheme fees along with
the loan provided to the farmers. Banks
must achieve 18% targets in the priority
sector lending. The state government
should also provide details of the farmers’requirements to all the bankers. This data
should be divided into different zones and
different banks should provide finance to
these farmers. It will then help the banks
in concentrating on those locations.
The agriculture ecosystem involves
weather report, finance and insurance.
Financing should happen based on this
ecosystem and this would help borrowers
and lenders. Regulators like NABARD
and the state government’s agriculture
department should supplement and
complement each other.Pankaj Pipariya, Sales Leader-India/South
Asia, The Weather Company, an IBM
Business
Weather impacts every sector of the
economy. In a recent survey, we found
that 100% of C-suite executives believe
that weather impacts at least one cost and
one revenue metric in their organizations,
while 99% believe improved weather
insights reduce annual operating costs
and 93% say that weather impacts annual
revenue growth. Three years ago, IBM
acquired The Weather Company, which is
one of the world’s largest private weather
service providers. The Weather Company
today is a known name in weather
forecasting across the world.
Around 90% of crop losses are due
to bad weather. We can’t control the
weather, but we can control our response
to disruptive weather events by taking
early action to mitigate the impact.
There are digitization challenges in
farming. The Tamil Nadu government
is at the forefront in digital initiatives
in farming. Digitization is the key, if we
don’t leverage the technology, we won’t be
able to scale and replicate it. Crop cuttingPanelists listening to the presentation