Self Help Groups backbone of J&K’s rural economy: LG Sinha

Asserting that every Panchayat in Jammu and Kashmir has two women entrepreneurs, the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that greater access to economic activities for women has made Self Help Groups the backbone of the rural economy.

“Government promoting women entrepreneurship by building strong grassroots institutions that can foster enduring transformation,” LG said address a function where Jammu and Kashmir rural livelihoods mission (Umeed) and e-commerce firm Meesho have signed an agreement to support the growth of 1,800 self-help group (SHG) members by providing them an online platform to launch and grow their business and empower rural women entrepreneurs.

“For the last two years, we have been working towards re-imagining the rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir and providing a strong market linkage and e-commerce platforms to exploit the potential of artisans,” he said.

He added that about 5.5 lakh women are associated with more than 64,000 SHGs and almost every panchayat has two women entrepreneurs today.

Congratulating women entrepreneurs of self-help groups (SHGs) and Meesho officials, the Lt Governor said the partnership will help in building lives and livelihoods for rural communities and provide greater access to economic activities, and financial independence to rural women entrepreneurs.

The partnership of rural livelihoods mission and e-commerce giant Meesho is a significant step in making niche products of Jammu and Kashmir available to the wider customer base, providing SHGs global market to grow their business, and making them Aatmanirbhar, he observed.

From shawls and carpets to Phool Kari, Jammu & Kashmir’s arts and crafts have earned global recognition for their uniqueness, officials said.

Going online with Meesho will allow these women to sell such products to all corners of India and benefit from higher visibility and additional income, they added.

Digital inclusion will help them become self-employed entrepreneurs and fulfil their aspirations of achieving financial independence.

JKRLM Umeed and Meesho have already identified products created by these SHGs that can be sold on the online platform, such as Chabhari and Bina grass items, papier-mache, essential oils, woollens and crewel embroidered products, made across J&K, they said.

JKRLM Umeed on its part will provide all necessary support to boost the digitisation of these women entrepreneurs through access to the internet and financial services.

The Lt Governor said the partnership will also provide an opportunity for both JKRLM and Meesho to scale up rural enterprises from grass root to large scale and bring change in rural women’s lives.

Meesho co-founder and CTO Sanjeev Barnwal said, “We are privileged to work with Umeed-JKRLM and the J&K Government to further our mission of democratising e-commerce. Women entrepreneurs are a key growth engine of India’s economy and Meesho has empowered lakhs of them to succeed in the online world”.

Meanwhile, LG inaugurated the Kisan Mela organised by SKUAST observed that the five-day assembly of farmers, industry, entrepreneurs, experts will help in developing linkages between various stakeholders to benefit the farming community.

He was addressing the gathering of farmers and agriculturists from around the country at the Baba Jitto auditorium of the SKAUST University.

Underscoring that Agriculture and farmers remain the top priority of the government, the Lt Governor said, in last two years, an enabling environment has been created for transforming J&K’s Agri and Allied Sectors in order to increase farmer income, ensure food security and accelerate UT’s economic growth.

Kisan Mela will showcase and deliberate upon the theme of diversification in agriculture which is not only important for assured income to our farming community but also in making agriculture systems more sustainable in the future, said the Lt Governor.

Appreciating the Apex Committee for formulating a future strategy for small and medium-sized farms to ensure access to more profitable markets with reduced cost of farm inputs, the Lt Governor said the holistic development is aimed at IT interventions, infusion of capital, value addition, processing, branding and marketing of agricultural produce supported by agri-business innovations to create employment.

Prime Minister has assured all possible cooperation and support from the Central Government in implementing the recommendations and projects proposed by the Apex Committee, the Lt Governor further added.

On the occasion, the Lt Governor initiated the functioning of the Krishi Vigyan Kendras of Ramban and Kishtwar districts, virtually.

With the operationalization of Krishi Vigyan Kendras at Ramban and Kishtwar today, all districts of Jammu Division now have functional KVKs dedicated towards conducting quality research and ensuring extension services, the Lt Governor observed.

The Lt Governor further said that our integrated approach with the focus on efficient use of bio-resources for food, feed and industry will be able to tackle challenges arising out of globalization and climate change.
We are determined to transform subsistence agriculture into sustainable commercial agriculture economy with emphasis on ecosystem services and restoration & sustainable utilization of biodiversity, he added.

Earlier, the Lt Governor inaugurated the rural sports by starting tug of war competition. He also inspected the stalls installed by SKUAST-Jammu, Government departments, FPOs, startups and local Agripreneurs for the benefit of farmers.

Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production Department threw light on the ways and strategy for holistic development of Agriculture and allied sector and transforming the lives of farmers with skill development and other dedicated initiatives.

In his welcome address, Prof. J.P. Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST-Jammu said that J&K is making strides in every field and features in national and international headlines for its unprecedented achievements.

Progressive farmers, startups, and best community pond developers were also awarded during the programme.
Dr. Sumati Sharma, Former Additional Director, DRDO, New Delhi; Baldev Billawaria, Deputy Mayor, JMC; Dr. Rajbir Singh, Director ICAR-ATARI; Avny Lavasa, DC Jammu; Major Manmohan Singh Virk; DDC members, HoDs, Faculty members, farmers from across the country and students were present on the occasion.