The first State Bankers’ Council, anchored by the Meghalaya Farmers’ (Empowerment) Commission (MFEC) in collaboration with the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition (IHMCTAN), was held yesterday to deliberate on ‘Accelerating the flow of credit to the Primary sector through targeted interventions with specific reference to the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF).’
The council was chaired by MFEC chairman KN Kumar and attended by officials of various departments and bankers of the state.
As it was the first meeting of the council, the members were briefed by the chairman about the mandate, roles and responsibilities of the MFEC followed by presentations on the activities of the commission, presentations on investment opportunities in the livestock sector by Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department Principal Secretary GHP Raju, the AIF by NABARD deputy general manager James P George, activities and modalities of PRIME Meghalaya by programme head Flo Oberhofer and a fruit winery proposal by IHMCTAN.
The council was marked by a lively open house session wherein the various issues plaguing the flow of credit to farmers and agri-entrepreneurs were placed before the council along with suggestions for redressal and resolution. Key issues highlighted were the low utilization of assistance available under the AIF for Meghalaya, credit hesitancy, financial literacy and means of easing credit flow to farmers.
