The move aligns with the Indian government's higher agriculture credit target for FY24 of Rs 20 lakh crore. Fasal, an Agri-tech business, established a partnership with State Bank of India (SBI) on Thursday, with the goal of providing farmers with easier access to finance.
The collaboration will assist in resolving cash-flow problems in farming during important cycles by delivering quick, convenient, and collateral-free loans at very reasonable rates. This fits into Fasal's greater goal of resolving the myriad difficulties that exist throughout the horticulture value chain, clearing the path for India's horticultural transformation.
The government indicated in the 2023 budget that the farm loan target for FY24 will be increased by 11% to?20 lakh crore. The unveiling of Fasal's latest financing option is in line with the government's concerted efforts to increase financial support for farmers across the country. Farmers can obtain collateral-free loans of up to three lakhs using this financing method. The goal is for farmers to be able to properly fund and manage urgent and immediate agri-input needs, as well as to implement Fasal's technology solution to make their farming precise and predictable.
These loans will be made available through the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme, which is well-known for having the lowest interest rate in the farmer credit support system. This latest Fasal service will initially be accessible in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh before expanding to other states. If the farmer has already reached his or her KCC limit, SBI will make these financing options available through other Agri programmes.
Shantanu Pendsey, CGM, Agriculture Business Unit (ABU), State Bank of India, Corporate Centre, stated of the cooperation, "We are pleased to partner with Fasal, a frontrunner in providing innovative solutions to the horticulture community. We will be able to reach out to more farmers across India and provide them with fast and easy access to financial assistance as a result of our combined effort. We are excited to collaborate with the Fasal team to financially empower farmers in India."
Shailendra Tiwari, Founder of Fasal, commented on the collaboration, saying, "Access to quick, easy, and low-cost financial support to farmers, as well as horticulturists, will be critical as we work to make horticulture a primary focus in the country. With SBI's help and their enormous nationwide network in rural areas, we are certain that we can favourably influence farmers by improving credit access and, as a result, deliver precision farming to a far larger number of farmers."
Fasal is harnessing technology to transform the horticultural ecosystem's main touchpoints, from input to output. Fasal now works with Indian farmers on approximately 60,000 acres of land across 20+ crops. Fasal's unique farm-level IoT-driven crop intelligence solution has eliminated guessing in horticulture farming by providing sophisticated irrigation alarms, farm-level micro-climatic forecasts, and pest/disease forewarnings.
In addition, Fasal Fresh, a national procurement network, was recently formed to assure fair pricing, streamlined processes, and availability to high-quality fruit. By assuring traceability and transparency throughout the process, Fasal Fresh connects farmers, retailers/sellers/partners, and end-consumers. "We want to provide solutions in a more holistic manner across the entire horticulture value chain," Shailendra stated. This collaboration with SBI is another another milestone in our combined commitment to provide complete solutions to Indian farmers.
