In a significant move, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has proposed to undertake a pilot project of joint farming activity on the lines of self-help groups. Though the proposal is yet to take a firm shape, it is aimed at reducing the number of dependents from the farming activity and to move them to the allied activity like food processing and packaging.
Speaking to media Nabard regional chief general manager, S R Aluru said that he had asked all his branches to act as catalyst in developing the farmer groups. “We are looking at 1,000 acre as one unit to make the project viable. While 50% of the family members will be diverted to other allied activities like food processing and packaging and the remaining in the farming activity at farm level,” Aluru said. NABARD will extend finance to these groups to improve their skills in farming and allied activities and also employ experienced marketing professionals to market the product, he added.
The organisational mode is yet to be finalised but Aluru said that the ownership of the land will vest with the farmers only. “It would be like consolidation of land holdings especially from the small farmers who hold less than 5 acres irrigable land,” he pointed out referring to the other models, like Punjab, where the marketing organisation had pooled the land from the farmers and taken up the farming activity. Contract farming activity is being encouraged by the corporate like ITC in various states including Andhra Pradesh. Aluru said that it would be easy for the development bank to provide finance to a group of farmers on the lines of self-help groups promoted in big number .
Explaining other schemes Nabard has taken up during the fiscal 2007-08, Aluru said it has extended a credit support of Rs 3,870 crore, an increase of 11.38% over 2006-07.
The credit support comprised Rs 1,444.11 crore as short term credit to banks, Rs 1,417 crore as refinance or investment credit to banks, Rs 1,009 crore towards rural infrastructure development fund (RIDF). During the current year 2008-09, the development bank proposed to extend credit support to the tune of Rs 4,500 crore.
Further, the development bank has committed Rs 246 crore under watershed development programme covering 16 distress districts in the state. It will benefit about 62,000 families and bring 2.46 lakh hectares under irrigation.