HT Correspondent
NAGAON, May 14: The District Commissioner of Hojai and the Chief General Manager of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) jointly laid foundation stones for several projects supported under the Mukhya Mantri Utkarsh Yojana (MMUY) in Hojai district on Wednesday.
The projects are aimed at strengthening Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and improving the economic condition of small and marginal farmers through aggregation and value addition initiatives.
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According to officials, four Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) associated with NABARD in Hojai district recently received the first instalment of financial assistance under the MMUY scheme launched by the Assam government.
As part of the projects, Thaisu Valley AFPCL will establish a jaggery processing plant at Tilabazar-Kaki in Lumding block, while Dakhin Hojai Milk PCL will set up a maize grinding unit at Bhimarali in Dhalpukhuri block.
Similarly, NABA Unnayan APCL will establish a mustard oil extraction unit at Pub Nabhanga in Jugijan block.
The foundation stones for these units were laid jointly by Hojai District Commissioner Deba Prasad Misra and NABARD CGM Loken Das. During the programme, fertilisers were also distributed among selected farmers and a solar-based Short Depth Tube Well supported under SOPD was inaugurated at a farmer’s plot in Tilabazar.
The events were organised by NABARD District Development Manager Rajendar Perna and attended by representatives of ISAP India Foundation, Gramya Unnayan Sanstha and Hojai Unnayan Mancha along with ADC Pritam Raja Sarma, DAO Altab Hussain and SDAO Jumur Goswami, among others.
Speaking on the occasion, Loken Das highlighted that formation of FPOs and establishment of processing units would help farmers secure better prices for their produce while also generating local employment opportunities and reducing migration of youth from rural areas.
District Commissioner Deba Prasad Misra said the MMUY scheme was introduced to strengthen the FPO ecosystem and modernise Assam’s agriculture sector by providing grant-in-aid support of ₹15 lakh in two instalments to selected high-performing FPOs across the state.
