Effectiveness of Agricultural Loan Waiver Scheme in Punjab: A regional comparative study of the perception of beneficiary farmers

Abstract

The actual success of public welfare schemes can be determined by the amount of benefits provided to their beneficiaries as well as the process of receiving those benefits and the scheme experience of the beneficiaries. The perception of beneficiary farmers on schemes related to farmer welfare presents an important reflection on the implementation, accessibility and effectiveness of the scheme. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the agricultural loan waiver scheme in the state of Punjab based on the perception of the beneficiary farmers and compare them with their perception in Malwa, Majha and Doaba regions. 400 beneficiary farmers were selected for the study, including 200 farmers from Malwa region, 100 farmers from Mazha region and 100 farmers from Doaba region. Respondents were selected using a snowball-sampling method and primary data were collected with a 25-statement perception scale. Data were analyzed through KMO and Bartlett tests, Exploratory Factor Analysis and One-way ANOVA. The factor analysis determined five key dimensions—adequacy of loan waiver, efficacy of debt burden relief, timeliness, implementation and accessibility, and transparency and fairness. The regional comparison showed significant differences in most dimensions, but no significant regional differences were found in the efficacy of debt burden relief. The findings of the study indicate that effective agricultural loan waiver scheme requires a simple process, time bound action, clear information, transparent beneficiary selection and accessible grievance redressal system along with granting of loan waiver. Future planning should therefore strengthen beneficiary-focused services and sector-specific implementation mechanisms, so that scheme reach, farmer confidence and real debt relief can be more effective.