The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has urged fish farmers in Lower Subansiri district to take advantage of the benefits offered by the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) fisheries scheme to expand their aquaculture activities. Dr Lalit Kumar Maurya, District Development Manager of NABARD, made this appeal while addressing participants at a KCC-cum-financial literacy workshop held at Tarin Aqua Park in Ziro on Thursday.
Dr Maurya highlighted the importance of the KCC as an effective tool for meeting the credit needs of farmers. He briefed the participants on the latest updates in KCC guidelines and also shared information on the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and the Jan Samarth portal. The workshop aimed to educate fish farmers about the various schemes available to them and how to access these benefits.
Lower Subansiri District Fisheries Development Officer (DFDO) L Lasa elaborated on various schemes of both the central government and the state government for the fisheries sector. He provided detailed information on Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives and the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. Lasa also encouraged farmers to utilise the two fish farmer-producer organisations operating in the district for marketing and other collective business activities.
The workshop also featured a demonstration of the ‘Krishika’ mobile application by SBI Chief Manager Sumit Brahma, which allows users to access KCC-related services and digital banking facilities. Brahma also sensitised the participants to the benefits of education loans for higher studies.
The programme was attended by around 58 farmers and stakeholders. The workshop was organised by Infoway IT Solutions under its outreach initiative. Other notable attendees included farm manager Mihin Tapin, APRB BM Biri Kanu, Apex Bank BM Elizabeth Bui Nyorak, and a team from Infoway IT Solutions.
During the session on financial inclusion, Lead District Manager Durga Boro explained various social security schemes, including insurance and pension programmes aimed at providing financial protection to rural households.
