In order to improve financial health of farmers and people living in rural areas, the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and the Ministry of Agriculture will create a micro banking network in North Eastern States to provide financial assistance and expertise to promote sale of Kiwi fruit, dairy products, poultry, fishery pisciculture and piggery across the country. The micro banking network will help to promote and sale of corrugated sheets and bricks of bamboo from NE States in different parts of the country. A workshop will be organised on January 30 to this effect in Delhi.
The financial assistance would be provided through the Ministry of Agriculture's wing, the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). The NCDC will also provide expertise to people of remote areas of N-E States where banking system is not available.
Citing the case of Kiwi, NCDC Managing Director Sundeep Kumar Nayak said that the fruit is grown on a large scale in NE States, but India still imports it as Kiwi of the hilly region is not recognised so far. India imports most of the Kiwi from Chile, Itlay and New Zealand. “Once a micro banking network is in place, the Government hopes that the farmers from the hilly States would be able to sell the fruit across all the mandis in the entire country,” Nayak said adding that this will help to improve the earning of the farmers and rural people.
Farmers in NE States, who have been growing kiwis for decades, are struggling to find buyers for the fruit as a result they are forced to sell their produce at 40% to 50% lower the price commanded by the multinationals. Arunachal Pradesh is the only leading State suitable for Kiwi production. In fact, farmers in Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim are harvesting Kiwi fruit.
Experts believe that with Government initiatives and support, farmers in other North-Eastern States can also try hands at Kiwi farming. It can be good for their livelihood and will also bring the State more revenues. The Kiwis harvested in Arunachal are larger than those imported from New Zealand. They weigh almost 150 grams while imported variants weigh up to 120 grams. These Kiwis contain good amount of Vitamin C and other key nutrients. The hilly terrain and climate of NE India are ideal for harvesting Kiwi on a large scale.
According to Nayak, corrugated bamboo sheets or bricks is another area which need urgent attention. The NCDC is also ready to provide loan and expertise in tourism, hospitality sector also.
Nayak also added that Uttrakhand government, has also planned to send proposals of Rs 3000-5000 crore to the NCDC.
As per the available data, NCDC had funded Rs 499.50 crore to eight NE States from 1962 to December 2017. Assam had got Rs 99.41 crore during the same period which is highest among the NE states.
Ministry of DoNER joint secretary SN Pradhan said that the micro banking network will help a lot to improve financial health of people of NE States. The North-Eastern region comprising Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, spread over nine per cent of the country's total land mass, contributes only three per cent to the country's Gross Domestic Products.
This will also help people to earn more money through other activities. In longer run, it will woo investors to invest in the region.
Officials say the region remains isolated from the rest of the country and has not been able to attract investors or produce skilled labour and entrepreneurial resources. It has failed to transform even the
primitive agricultural practices of the region into modern commercial agriculture. In addition, the region has not received the attention of the central government in building the required essential infrastructure for progress.
All this has alienated the northeast from the mainland and proved to be a prime factor for the continuance of insurgency in the region.