Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala would avail Rs 500 crore as loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN), in order to revive the state’s farming sector, which suffered extensive damage in the recent floods.
The IFAD has in principle agreed to grant a 40-year loan to the state at a nominal rate of interest, it was learnt.
The UN agency, based in Rome, is dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. The representatives of the agency, who visited the state a couple of days ago, held talks with Minister for Agriculture V S Sunil Kumar as well as the central government authorities in New Delhi.
The state has submitted its preliminary report to the Centre on the damage caused by the floods to the agriculture sector. One of the major challenges faced by Kerala in borrowing funds from foreign agencies is the existing regulatory ceiling on borrowing for the state. The state government has already asked the Centre to increase the ceiling to 4.5 per cent of the GDP to raise sufficient resources for the post-floods reconstruction challenges that Kerala faces.
The state has also sought an emergency financial assistance of Rs 2,000 crore from the Union Agriculture Ministry. Also, efforts are on to avail funds from the National Horticulture Mission.
Losses pegged at Rs 19,000 crore
The agriculture department has estimated the loss caused by floods to the state’s farming sector at Rs 19,000 crore. Damage to crops alone has been pegged at Rs 6,000 crore.
The state government has constituted an expert panel to prepare a detailed plan for research and extension interventions and formulate strategies to revive the farming sector.
A decision has also been made to discontinue some of the projects, that are under various stages of implementation, against the backdrop of the floods. Instead, a new scheme laying emphasis on the promotion of paddy, banana, vegetable, pepper, and cardamom cultivation would be launched.
Read more: Latest Kerala news