State Bank of India (SBI) has concluded a 15-day nationwide outreach programme aimed at engaging with India’s farming community, which the bank says is central to the country’s food security and rural economy.
The initiative, titled Annadata Utsav, was conducted across nearly 15,000 rural and semi-urban branches, where the bank organised village-level meetings known as Gram Choupals. These gatherings provided a forum for direct interaction between bankers and farmers, allowing discussions on credit access, government schemes and financial literacy.
During the programme, SBI recognised farmers and agri-entrepreneurs for achievements in agriculture and allied activities. Senior officials from the bank’s Agri Business Unit and Government Sponsored Schemes divisions took part in the outreach across various regions, underscoring SBI’s focus on agricultural financing.
According to the bank, information sessions were held on several central government initiatives, including the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME), PM-KUSUM, financing for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and electronic negotiable warehouse receipt-based lending. SBI also showcased its own agricultural loan products aimed at crop production, post-harvest infrastructure, food processing, storage, renewable energy and market linkages.
The programme also addressed issues related to financial awareness. Sessions were organised on credit discipline, timely loan repayment, cyber fraud prevention and depositor protection. These were conducted in collaboration with credit bureaus CIBIL and CRIF, as well as under the Reserve Bank of India’s Depositor Education and Awareness Fund.
SBI said more than 124,000 participants attended the events, including small and marginal farmers, progressive cultivators, agri start-ups, food processors and members of FPOs.
As India continues to focus on strengthening its agricultural value chain, the bank said such engagements are intended to support farmers in moving beyond primary production towards processing and entrepreneurship, contributing to a more resilient rural economy.
