Credit facilities and development of Rural Haats to promote agripreneurs were emphasized at the 43rd Foundation Day of NABARD celebrated by its Tripura regional Office in Agartala on July 12.
Speaking on the occasion, Anil S Kotmire, GM/OIC highlighted that the credit portfolio of the state needs to be increased manifold in order to promote the agricultural economy of the state. He emphasized that the major banks in the state should finance the entrepreneurs to develop demonstration unit in each sector such as cold storage, large warehouses, agro processing unit, floricultural, horticultural corps etc. He stated there is a scope of development of Rural Haat in each block of the state to promote agripreneurs.
Further, he said the NGOs and the FPOs have bigger role to play in the agri economy of the state as per capita land holding is very small. The aggregation of the farmers is the need of the hour. As such FPOs are required to be promoted in a big way.
The Foundation Day event was chaired by Apurba Roy, IAS, Secretary, Finance and Agriculture, Govt. of Tripura. The event was attended by Anil S Kotmire, GM/OIC, NABARD Tripura RO, Sudip Bhatacharyya, DGM, RBI Tripura, Satyendra Singh, Chairman, Tripura Gramin Bank, Dr. Burhan U. Choudhary, ICAR Regional Centre Tripura, Prof. Arunbhai Patel, Dean, College of Fisheries; Prof Debasish Sen, Principal, College of Agriculture; Kamal Kanti Sen, Chairman, Tripura State Cooperative Bank Ltd., Bankers, Financial Institutions, State Govt. Officials, Major NGOs in the State and FPOs promoted by NABARD.
Diganta Kumar Das, DGM NABARD, highlighted NABARD’s journey since inception and informed the audience about various landmark initiatives started by NABARD such as Self Help group (SHG), Kisan Credit Card (KCC), Joint Liability Groups (JLG) and Farmer Producer Organization (FPOs).
He further highlighted the digitization of the Cooperative Banks and Regional Rural Banks all over the country and initiatives taken in Tripura for obtaining GI tag for Matabari peda, Risha and Pachra. He also highlighted the role of NABARD in promoting FPOs and providing sustainable livelihood to the people of Tripura ensuring prosperity in rural Tripura.
Apurba Roy, IAS, Secretary, Govt. of Tripura applauded NABARD’s efforts for providing basic infrastructure facilities in Tripura and indicated that NABARD and the State Government are working hand in hand to provide basic facilities and the infrastructure for developing the overall economy of the state.
He talked about the shortcomings in agriculture and the efforts required to promote integrated farming in a big way in order to make farming a profitable business for the people of Tripura.
Roy also highlighted about providing agricultural infrastructure especially for micro irrigation during the winter and summer seasons to ensure irrigation for the winter and summer crops. He said the potential for agro-based industries which needs to be focused especially Pineapple and Mango.
In the event, two Mobile Vans, sanctioned by NABARD, were flagged off by the Secretary. Further, the unit cost booklet on investment activities published by NABARD for FY 2024-25 was released and the best performing Bank Sakhis working under TRLM and NABARD were recognized and provided with token of appreciation.
(Tripura, Tripura News)
