NABARD allots Rs 35 lakh to IIT Mandi for FPO

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi together with the Enabling Women of Kamand (EWOK) Society of IIT Mandi, have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). On February 22, 2020, the MoA was signed between the institutes for partnership on constituting Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. The MoA was signed by Ms. Sandhya Menon, Secretary, EWOK Society, Mr. Nilay Kapoor, Chief General Manager, NABARD, and Dr. Venkata Krishnan, Dean Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (SRIC), IIT Mandi.

To mark the main domains pertaining to farm and non-farm sectors in Himachal Pradesh, the MoA was signed by the three organisations. This was made possible by several brainstorming meetings held between December 2019 and February 2020. To promote and setup 3 Farmer Producer Organisations in a period of the next 3 years, NABARD has allotted an amount of Rs. 35 lakhs to EWOK Society and IIT Mandi. An FPO is a set of farm producers, with members as stakeholders in an organisation.

To establish the three FPOs, IIT Mandi and the EWOK society will recognise areas, generate consciousness among farmers, and form and register the FPOs. The institute and the society will also mentor the Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors of the FPOs, prepare business development plan, organise capacity building programme, and help FPOs in raising credit and bank loans. Enabling Women of Kamand (EWOK) is an idea of IIT Mandi Women's Center to help rural women establish small enterprises in 5 panchayats of Katindhi, Batheri, Kamand, Kataula, and Navlaya in Mandi district by providing them guidance, training and information.

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