Homestead Farming Loan

Loans to individual farmers [including Self Help Groups (SHGs) or Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) i.e. groups of individual farmers, provided banks maintain disaggregated data of such loans and Proprietorship firms of farmers, directly engaged in Agriculture and Allied Activities, viz. dairy, fishery, animal husbandry, poultry, bee-keeping and sericulture. Loans sanctioned to Corporate farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)/(FPC) Companies of Individual Farmers, Partnership firms and Co-operatives of farmers engaged in Agriculture and Allied Activities are also eligible under farm credit subject to specific conditions.

Loans provided for construction of storage facilities, soil conservation and watershed development, Plant tissue culture and Agri-biotechnology, seed production, production of bio-pesticides, bio-fertilizer, and vermi composting are eligible to be classified under Agri infrastructure. Loans for construction of oil extraction/ processing units for production of bio-fuels, their storage and distribution infrastructure along with loans to entrepreneurs for setting up Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) plants are also eligible as per revised RBI guidelines.

Loans to co-operative societies of farmers for purchase of the produce of members , Loans for setting up of Agri-clinics and Agri-business centres, Loans to Start-ups that are engaged in agriculture and allied services, Loans to Custom Service Units who undertake farm work for farmers on contract basis are eligible under this category. Loans provided for Food and Agro-processing up to an aggregate sanctioned limit of ₹100 crore per borrower from the banking system is also eligible under Ancillary services. Loans sanctioned by banks to MFIs and NBFCs complying specific conditions stipulated by RBI for on-lending to agriculture sector will also qualify under this head. In addition to these Bank loans to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Farmers’ Service Societies (FSS) and Large-sized Adivasi Multi-Purpose Societies (LAMPS) for on-lending to agriculture will qualify under ancillary category for priority classification.