Agricultural Banking: Getting the Perspective Right (Hardcover)

By B. Yerram Raju

This book is a collection of select articles written by the author in prominent dailies like The Hindu, Business Line, Financial Express and journals like the Journal of Rural Development, Economic and Political Weekly, Asian Economic Review, INCLUSION among others that provide a history of agricultural banking in the post-independent India. The articles give a perspective as to how the policies have been shaped in the field of agricultural banking. The share of agriculture in GDP has fallen to 12 percent and yet keeping nearly 60 percent of persons depending on it. Farmers are still becoming victims of excessive interest rates and burden of private debt and therefore, the right perspective of institutional lending for agriculture assumes importance.

The author has provided insights into how the policies for agricultural banking has evolved over the years and how they are shaping up today. He feels that there is yawning gap between the post-liberalisation and post-nationalisation agricultural and rural credit and requires proper orientation towards the farmers. Historical perspective would enable present day bankers to view the emerging requirements right and the policy makers to see the need for integrating policy perspectives of agriculture credit, agricultural marketing, organized retail marketing, value chain management, and world trade in agriculture, cooperatives and food security as a web of activities. It is a must read for academicians, policy makers, policy consultants, cooperators, bankers and other stakeholder groups.

B Yerram Raju is a banker turned economist. His contribution to the rural economy and agriculture commenced with his career in the State Bank of India in the second half of sixties. Post-nationalisation, his perspectives have significantly contributed to the policy formulation and implementation of agriculture credit programmes.

He has penned a number of other books on agriculture: Andhra Pradesh Vision 2020: Strategy for Sustainable Agricultural Growth (2001), co-authored with N.G.P. Rao, former Vice Chancellor of Pantnagar Agriculture University; Commercial Banks and Rural Development: Issues and Trends (1982); and How and Why of Rural Banking (1987) along with C.L. Khemani, Agricultural Banking, KESDEE, US apart from numerous articles in popular dailies and journals of repute.

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