A Study On Socio-Economic Development Of Farmer Community Through The Role Played By Institutional Credit –With Special Reference To Bangalore Rural District

Agriculture is a primary sector of the Indian economy as about 70 percent of the total population depends on it and its dependence continues unabated. The pulls and pressures in the farm factor continue to extent their influence on the overall course of economic activity. Farming one of the most hazardous of all economic enterprises, because it is wholly out-door venture exposed perilously to the unpredictable vagaries of weather. The crops are vulnerable to damage b several factors like diseases, birds, stray animals, rats, natural and unnatural calamities such as floods, droughts, cyclones, fires etc. So provision of an effective insurance cover for farm activities is indeed very difficult. The insurance companies which had rich experience is providing the insurance cover and other types of business are not inclined to take up crop insurance business due to higher risk factor prevailing in the farm sector.Institutional credit structure was the first to realize that increasing rural incomes through enhanced agricultural production and generating employment in non-farm activities as critical to expanding home market for accelerated investment and industrial growth. In view of the support of Institutionalcredit, it has been possible to register higher rate of income growths. Prices of agricultural produce have been largely responsible to arrest the rate of inflation. Short term cooperative credit structure silently has been working on this philosophy.An attempt is made in this chapter to analyze the role of institutional credit in agriculture sector development in the state of Karnataka.