Govt rejects Agri Ministry's proposal to let farmers buy seeds with old notes
New Delhi: The Finance Ministry on Thursday had announced some measures to mitigate the problems of farmers across the country, but had rejected Agriculture Ministry’s proposal to allow them to buy seeds with demonetised notes of Rs 500 and 1,000.
According to a report in Indian Express, the Finance Ministry told the Agriculture Ministry that farmers maybe used as means to offload black money if they were allowed to use old notes and thus turned down their proposal.
The government said close to 16 crore Jan Dhan accounts are active in rural areas and farmers could easily use them to exchange or withdraw money to buy seeds and everything else they need for their crops.
On Thursday, the government had eased guidelines for farmers by allowing them to withdraw up to Rs 50,000 cash per week from bank.
Besides, it also extended the deadline for payment of crop insurance premium by 15 days and permitted APMC-registered traders to withdraw up to Rs 50,000 per week.
“These steps will ensure that sowing takes place adequately in the Rabi season and enough cash is available to the farmers to buy fertiliser, seeds and other inputs,” Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das told reporters.
"The government has decided to permit the farmers to draw up to Rs 25,000 per week against the crop loan sanctioned and credited to their accounts, subject to the limits...and this will also apply to Kisan Credit Cards," he said.
These accounts have to be in the name of the concerned farmers, the accounts will have to be KYC compliant, Das said.
Besides, if the farmers receive payments either by way of cheques or RTGS into the bank accounts, they can withdraw up to Rs 25,000 per week, Das said.
Similarly, the registered traders with the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) markets also will be permitted to draw Rs 50,000 per week to meet various cash requirements like payment of wages to workers and other sundry expenses.
"So, this will facilitate smooth procurement process and help farmers to sell their produce without any difficulty," Das said.
