NABARD Chief underscores contractual farming in Orissa

Bhubaneswar, Dec 22 (UNI) NABARD Managing Director K G Karmakar today underscored the need for more commercial and contractual farming in Orissa and assured all assistance to the state to strengthen the rural economy.

Talking to newsmen here, Mr Karmakar said orissa should give more emphasis on cultivation of oil seeds,pulses,sugarcane and focus more on animal husbandry.

As a cash crop, the sugarcane cultivation could boost the economy of the Orissa farmers, he said and asked the farmers of coastal orissa to take advantage of the new technology in the cultivation of pulses and oil seeds.

Mr Karmakar said Orissa has a lot of potential in poultry and fisheries which should be accorded industry status.

The NABARD Managing Director said Orissa has been doing well in micro credit movement with about two lakh self help group(SHGs), highest in the eastern India,doing the wonderful job.

Earlier speaking on a workshop on Rural Credit movement, the NABARD Chief said the rural credit in Orissa has been improved with most of the banks exceeding their target.

He said the rural credit in the state has gone up from Rs 4450 crores in 2003-2004 to Rs 5594 crores during 2005-2006 and hoped that the target of Rs 6164 crores fixed during 2006-2007 would likely to be exceeded.

Mr Karmakar said for credit linkage the self help group should be linked with the post offices to give a serious competition to the Banks. Such an experiment, he said has been proved very successful in Tamil Nadu.

He hinted that like the Kissan Credit Card, the Gramin Tatkal Card would be soon introduced in some states in which entire family members of the farmer would be covered under the credit services.

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