NABARD has reached out to nooks and corners of the country in order to fulfil its mandate of sustainably developing the agriculture, village and cottage industries

BISWANATH CHARIALI: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has been working for the development of Rural India for the last four decades. NABARD has reached out to nooks and corners of the country in order to fulfil its mandate of sustainably developing the agriculture, village and cottage industries and other allied sector economic activities.

Since 2019, NABARD Assam Regional Office in association with CADAT (an NGO) has been implementing one Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) covering 200 tribal families across seven villages in Sakomatha Development Block in Biswanath subdivision. Keeping in view the lack of marketing infrastructure in the said ITDP area, the NABARD RO has sanctioned an amount of Rs 15 lakh during 2022-23 for creation of marketing, sanitation and waste management structures in the Koilajuli Weekly Market, which will cater to approximately 5000 people residing in the nearby villages.

Naveen Dhingra, CGM, NABARD Assam RO along with Promod Borthakur, Biswanath MLA laid the foundation stone of Koilajuli Rural Haat in the presence of several other dignitaries. The CGM NABARD and the MLA also jointly inaugurated the Model Millet Project (FSPF-DPR) to be implemented in the same area with the grant assistance from NABARD covering 50 farmers in 10 hectares of land area. Keeping in line with the International Year of Millets, 2023, the project aims to introduce millet cultivation in the area by utilizing the existing dry and uplands. Foxtail Millet seeds were also distributed to the beneficiary farmers on the occasion. Millet cake, millet cookies and millet porridge were served to the dignitaries and the participants in order to highlight the uses of millets to be produced.

In his speech, the CGM NABARD highlighted the needs of good Marketing Infrastructure in facilitating the sale of farm produce. He also highlighted the benefits of millet cultivation and consumption on a daily basis. Biswanath MLA appreciated the role of NABARD in developing such an interior area and encouraged the farmers to engage in millet cultivation in order to ascertain better income generation.