Govt mulls funding to agri firms

Chandigarh: CM Capt Amarinder Singh has directed the Chief Secretary to examine a NABARD proposal for funds to promote small agricultural businesses among poor rural youth as well as farmers with small landholdings, besides landless labourers. The CM also asked the NABARD chairman to allow cooperative banks to diversify to enable it to widen its ambit of operations from advancement of crop loans to term loans to farmers and the rural populace. NABARD chairman Dr Harsh Kumar Bhanwala had called on the CM for a meeting here. Capt Amarinder agreed to a proposal of the NABARD chairman to strengthen the existing network of farmer produce organisations (FPOs), saying it would help farmers who were facing hardships due to lack of proper marketing infrastructure for their produce. tns