NEW DELHI (Commodity Online): In order to overcome the concern about the output fall due to the weak monsoon and achieving the estimated target, India decided to provide soft loans to farmers in the country.

The government has decided to assist the sugarcane growers with soft loans for seed, fertilizers and pesticides for the development of sugarcane for improving productivity, said an official statement on Friday.

Loans would be given by the Department of Food and Public Distribution, government of India, from Sugar Development Fund to the applicant sugar factories at an interest rate of 4 percent per annum.

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The loans would be disbursed to the sugar factories by 31st December 2009, who in turn, will pass on the loans, in cash or kind, to the cane growers in their area latest by 31st March 2010, at an interest rate not higher than 4 percent per annum.

The sugar factories would be required to repay the loan along with interest thereof, in a total period of 4 years from the date of disbursement, in 4 equal annual installments.