Sambalpur: As part of an initiative of the Mission Shakti department, the district administration has prepared a special plan to make the women and farmers of the district self-reliant, a report said.
The matter came to the fore at a meeting which was attended by senior officials of the district administration and 21 producer groups at the DRDA conference hall, Tuesday.
Sukant Tripathy, project director, DRDA, Tanmaya Kumar Darwan, assistant project director, DRDA, Srimant Hota, district coordinator of ORMAS, Bikash Mohanty, Priyambada Guru and delegates of 21 producer groups attended the meeting.
Talking to media persons, Hota, said that as part of this initiative the district administration has formed a company Samaleswari Sambalpur Non-timber Forest Produce and Farmer Producers Company Ltd (SSNFPCL) comprising the producer groups in various blocks of the district.
The producer groups comprise women self-help groups (WSHGs). As part of this initiative, an agrimall will be constructed at Kuchinda where farmers will get marketing and conservation facilities for their produce.
In this mall, farmers will have cold storage facility which will help them in conserving their crops. Paddy seeds, fertilizers and agricultural implements will also be available in this mall to help farmers save time and concentrate on his cultivation.
Farmers can also sell their harvest in this mall and earn their livelihood. The mall will offer processing facilities for varieties of fruits like mango, chilli and litchi. Hota said there is already a fruit processing plant in Sambalpur district but the new initiative will provide benefits to farmers, consumers and all other stakeholders under one roof.
Moreover, efforts are on for establishment of more fruit processing plants in the district. Similarly, arrangements will be made to provide modern equipment to bamboo artisans in Laumal village under Rengali block to help them produce more and earn more from their work.
Moreover, the women and their family members engaged in collection of minor forest produce will be benefited as the company will directly purchase the raw materials from them. He said over 21 producer groups are actively working in the district.
This year, over 1000 new members have been added to the producer groups which the district administration plans to increase to 10,000 in future. A woman member of self-help groups interested to become a member of a producer group has to deposit Rs 1,000 as security money.
However, due to Covid restrictions, the security money has been reduced to Rs 200 while the rest of the amount has to be paid by the members in easy installments.
PNN
