Training for farmers to augment their shrinking incomes due to COVID-19

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 19, 2020

A special 6 Day Skill Training & Capacity Building was launched on 17 July 2020 in Bishop House, Mihmyntdu as part of the COVID-19 Response action in the district. The programme is an Off-farm Collaborative Initiative by and National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) and Jaintia Hills Development Society (JHDS) intended to benefit NRLM SHG members/farmers under Laskein Block and augment their shrinking income in times of COVID.

Present during the inauguration were North Jowai MDC, Brighstar Chyrmang, Greville Kharlukhi (Manager, NABARD) and Father Manbha Pakem (Director, JHDS), who encouraged the women farmers to use these enhanced skills to improve their primary sources of income in COVID times and lead the way for further empowerment of women in the district.

Incidentally, NABARD has also promisingly announced earmarking of ₹5,000 crore during 2020-21 for turning PACS into multi service centres across the country, which are one-stop shops for meeting the varied needs of the farmers. As many as 5,000 PACS will be upgraded this year followed by 15,000 PACS in FY 2022 and 15000 PACS in FY 2023.

With a view to augment the resources of Cooperative banks and RRBs to enable them to extend credit to farmers for taking up pre-monsoon and kharif 2020 operations, NABARD has extended Rs 20,500 crore with Rs 15,200 crore to Cooperative Banks and the balance of Rs 5,300 crore to RRBs as special liquidity facility in various states. The Fund is given as a means of front loading the resources of these banks so as to ensure adequate liquidity with them for financing farmers. This is against Rs 5,000 crore lent during the first quarter of the last year. The banks have also initiated a programme of Saturation of KCC cards and about 12 lakh new KCC cards have been issued by Cooperative banks and RRBs during the last two months.