KOCHI: When most cooperative banks in the state, especially those registered as primary agriculture credit societies, have turned out to be just money lending firms, a few of them have set a model for effective intervention in agriculture sector and catalysed the growth indices of local people.
The Palliakkal cooperative bank near North Paravur in Ernakulam district, which was in the news recently with the visit of CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan during the Nava Kerala Yatra, has initiated a sustainable agriculture farming initiative by standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the farmers.
Of the 1,636 primary agriculture credit societies in the state, only fewer than 10 per cent banks focus on the agriculture sector.
“The cooperative bank, started in 1942, turned to organic farming in 1999 when it was on the brink of liquidation. Instead of providing agriculture loan, the bank adopted an innovative and comprehensive approach by intervening in the distribution of farming inputs, collection and marketing.
Started on an experimental basis, the bank is now ‘owned’ by over 1,000 farmers and it has marketed agriculture produce worth over Rs 20 crore,” said Mr M.P. Vijayan, secretary of the Palliakkal cooperative bank.
All the 2,000 families in Ezhikkara panchayat directly or indirectly benefit from the bank either as farmers or consumers. Cultivation is spread across 50 acres and will be extended to 10 more acres.
Twenty-six of the 28 self-help groups in the village are engaged in farming. Though the bank is governed by the CPM-led committee, politics has nothing to do with its success and the villagers support its efforts and provide agricultural land free for cultivation.
The bank’s surprising recovery from the brink of liquidation also tells the story of an agriculture revolution in a remote village, where the soil is saline and not fertile.
“The bank lends money at just four percent interest to the farmers and finds even land for cultivation for the needy. From preparation of farm land and selecting high-yielding seeds to identifying markets, it arranges everything for the farmers. A monitoring committee evaluates the cultivation with regular monthly review meetings in farmers’ households. A food security green army and a master farmer trained by the bank provide the necessary technical assistance to the farmers,” said Mr P.P Elias, bank president.
The self-help groups under the cooperative bank with a strong footing in organic vegetable cultivation have expanded their activities from dairy farming, floriculture and Pokkali farming to aquaculture.
“There are over 100 dairy farmers who supply milk to the bank which directly sells it to the 2,000 households in Ezhikkara. With no middlemen involved, we pay them more than what MILMA does and on an average, a dairy farmer here saves twice or thrice of what a normal dairy farmer gets,” Mr Vijayan added.
Terming the Palliakkal model a realistic and feasible path for the cooperative sector, Mr M.M. Abbas, director of Thrikkakara grama panchayat cooperative hospital and district-level coordinator of the CPM’s organic farming initiative, stressed the need to have more primary agriculture credit societies in organic farming sector.
“After the beginning of cooperative movement in the state, many of the primary credit societies formed with the major bylaw of assisting the growth of ailing agriculture sector have become money lending firms. Providing agriculture loan or subsidy alone will not help the farmers; rather they need a comprehensive support system like that of Palliakkal model. During the last few decades, over 90 per cent of the agriculture credit societies have moved away from their objective. The Economic Review of the state indicates a sharp decline in investment – credit ratio and the cooperative sector gets only six per cent of the total allocation to the agriculture sector,” he said.
CPM district secretary P. Rajeev feels that such innovative concepts can be successfully replicated in other parts of the state if cooperative banks shift their focus from being money lending institutions.
