Ruchi Soya brings digital banking awareness to farmers in north east

The oil palm division of Ruchi Soya Industries Limited at Lunglei in Mizoram recently conducted digital banking awareness seminars to familiarise the farmers with transacting in a cashless economy.

In the aftermath of demonetization, it was the farming community in the rural areas, particularly in the North-East that faced an uphill effort in conducting day to day transactions.

With only 180 currency chests for the 3,723 bank branches across the Northeast, it was imperative to help the farmers make a smooth transition to a cashless economy. At this crucial juncture, Ruchi Soya rose to the occasion with the 'Kisan Kalyan Ayojan' digital banking initiative to train farmers and induct them into the digital ecosystem

 

Mr. Dinesh Shahra, Founder and Managing Director, Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd. said, "We realized that Mizoram and other northeastern rural belts lacked positive support to make a smooth transition to the cashless economy and we were happy to extend our support to make it happen. We have always strived to bring about a change in the agro industry, and our efforts began even before demonetization. Today's initiative builds on the foundation laid by us in Andhra Pradesh two decades ago; when we introduced cashless transactions by helping palm farmers open bank accounts. Our mission is to touch the lives of over 30,000 palm plantation farmers through the digital banking awareness camps and empower them to step fearlessly into the digital age."

As part of the 'Kisan Kalyan Ayojan' initiative, the awareness camp in Lunglei in Mizoram helped farmers open bank accounts so that they can receive payments online directly into their accounts. The camp also trained the farmers in conducting cashless transactions and informing them of the advantages like transparency and speed of FFB payments in Mizoram agri markets. The farmers were also mentored on the production of qualitative FFB yield.

Dr. David Fangzauva, Agriculture Extension Officer, Lunglei, Mizoram said that cultivation of Oil Palm will help improve the socio-economic condition of the growers and emphasized on cashless transactions which are well supported both by the industry and farmers. He further added that their department is now trying to supply fertilizers to Farmers which will help the farming community to get higher yields.