Sunday, April 10 2005 19:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Setting an ambitious target of Rs 1,40,000 crore farm credit this fiscal, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today (Apr 10, 2005) said that political consensus was required in allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in agri retail, introduction of contract farming and privatisation of mandis.

Addressing Agriculture Summit 2005, he said that reforms need to be speeded up by amendments in Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) Act and bringing in legislations for seeds and integrated food law.

"There are fundamental issues where there is difference in polity in contract farming, privatisation of mandis, opening retail trade to foreign investment and public-private partnership in agriculture. It will be the Government's efforts to overcome these differences," Chidambaram said.

"Contract farming must be given a thrust, mandis must be privatised, APMC Act must be amended along with a Seeds bill and Integrated Food Law, retail must be opened up especially for food products and FDI allowed," he said, but added that it would not be an easy task for carrying out these reforms.

He said that the Government was committed to public-private partnership in increasing agriculture investments especially in the areas of irrigation, watershed and wasteland development and doubling farm credit in three years.

"Credit to farm sector was Rs 80,000 crore in 2003-04 and the target set for 2004-05 was Rs 1,05,000 crore. I believe we have exceeded the target and it stood at Rs 1,08,000 crore in 2004-05. We will talk to banks and we hope to set another ambitious target of Rs 1,40,000 crore this fiscal," he said.