Srinagar, Mar 14: The J&K Grameen Bank inaugurated a Farmers’ Club at Tragbal in Varmul. The club has been named after a spiritual personality of the area Baba Hamidullah.
 The club was inaugurated by Chairman Grameen Bank, Raja Abdul Lateef in presence of a well attended gathering comprising locals of the area. General Manger, Muhammad Altaf Bhat and Abid Ahmad Area Manager of Grameen Bank, were present at the function.
 Lateef in his address stressed the need for creation of such clubs. “The farmers’ clubs serve as informal forums at grassroots. They are organized by rural branches of banks throughout the country to provide package of initiatives helping transfer of technology, improving input use efficiency and promoting investments in agriculture both in private and in public sectors and creating a favourable and enabling economic environment,” he said.
 He said the clubs were organized with the support and financial assistance of NABARD for the mutual benefit of the banks concerned and rural people.
 He said opening of today’s club was a beginning towards bringing in benefits to “our farmers which their counterparts in other states are already enjoying.”
 “More such clubs will be established and organized in near future,” he assured.
 Bhat said the development in rural areas through credit, technology transfer, awareness and capacity building was the main focus of the farmers’ club.
 He said the farmers’ club programme was the appropriate and most suitable strategy initiated by NABARD under which location specific skill and knowledge based technologies to promote greater value addition to agriculture produce and forge new partnerships between public institutions, technology users and the corporate sector was envisaged and adhered to.
 He said the Grameen Bank was committed to economic uplift and prosperity of the farmers who had been facing problems in absence of such clubs while dealing with the financial institutions and banks.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 IST