Nabard and Origo to assist J&K basmati farmers

The bank to implement the project in 26,100 hectares in Jammu district and will help farmers avoid distress sale of the crop by addressing immediate credit needs

Basmati farmers of Jammu and Kashmir might heave a sigh of relief as the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (Nabard) and private player Origo Commodities have conceptualised a pilot project to enable farmers receive better price for their produce.

The bank will implement the project in about 26,100 hectares in Jammu district and will help farmers avoid distress sale of the crop by addressing the immediate credit needs.

Speaking to Business Standard, Nabard's Chief General Manager (Jammu) B G Mukhopadhyay said, "We have conducted a study and found that price realisation by the farmers is less than 40 per cent compared with the retail market. So, price discovery to farmers is important from the point of view of ensuring better returns to farmers. We have chalked out a strategy to assist them. Initially, the project will be implemented on 26,100 hectares and later extended to also crops. In Jammu, the pilot project would be taken up in the RS Pura subdivision, Samba and Kathua districts."

Basmati rice of 370 variety is usually cultivated here.

"Presently farmers are engaged in distress sale of the crop to meet their credit needs. The main objectives of the project is to make agriculture more remunerative to farmers without affecting their fund flow and taking up production activities for the next crop cycle," Mukhopadhyay said.

Nabard is identifying financially strong primary cooperative societies or marketing co-operative societies and would also provide grant support for select PACS for setting-up/up-gradation of storage go-down or warehousing facilities.