NABARD, Jharkhand Regional Office, Ranchi convened Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) meeting on Saturday to discuss the issues and opportunities available under Off Farm Sector and also discuss the subject of the meeting "Arts and Crafts in Jharkhand" It was done, so that an action plan could be prepared for the development of this area in the State so that maximum number of people could benefit from it.

During the meeting NABARD Chief General Manager, S Jahangirdar made everyone aware about the pace being given to agriculture and rural development through various schemes of NABARD. He further said that farmers should be supported so that they can get perennial source of income through both farm and off-farm activities. In this sequence, NABARD is supporting GI tagging so that such products attract specific market consumers, he added.

Jahangirdar further said that for the awareness of the House, the status of GI registered products in India is 450 items, while in Germany – around 8000 GI products and in China – 7500 products. He said that now bamboo fiber and banana fiber is making a splash in the eco-friendly clothing market. He also emphasized on the importance of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform and the benefits to artisans on joining ONDC, which can be availed with better price realisation, and more savings with the artisans. All the stakeholders were requested to present their views and share their issues so that a road map can be prepared for the development of this sector, he added.

Director, Handlooms, Handicrafts and Sericulture, Government of Jharkhand, Akanksha Ranjan, highlighted the issue of handlooms and handicrafts and discussed the reasons for high cost of handloom products due to extensive labor work and time consuming process, due to which handlooms products became expensive. She also said that people are not aware about silk and they feel that these items are expensive. That's why awareness should be created about silk. Upgradation of looms and marketing is also to be done to address the handloom issue.

Ranjan also appreciated the schemes of NABARD in the non-agriculture sector and the scope for convergence was also discussed. She also informed the House that training programs on handicrafts provide end-to-end solutions to promote sericulture. “Silk messengers are identified to provide yarn and wage assistance is also provided to them. Artisans were also encouraged to take advantage of the SFURTI scheme supported by the Government of India,” she added.