Nabard inks pact with IIM-A to research rural agriculture

MUMBAI: Nabard today said it has signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, to set up a Chair to encourage research in climate change, rural livelihood and financial inclusion, among others.

The MoU was signed by Nabard Deputy Managing Director H R Dave and IIM-A Director Ashish Nanda at Ahmedabad, a release said.

The objective of the chair is to encourage research in emerging areas such as climate change, rural livelihood, financial inclusion, value chain management, agriculture marketing and financial product development, the release said.

"As revealed by the recently released findings of the 70th round of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), agriculture in India is dominated by the presence of small and marginal farms," the release said.

The partnership with IIM is yet an attempt to enhance efficiency of supply chains and address issues of fragmented value chains existing in the country at present, it said.

Integrating small and marginal farmers into efficient supply chains and exploring the role of the private sector to achieve this would also be examined by the Nabard Chair professor, it said.

The chair is expected to offer inputs on issues confronting agriculture marketing and suggest innovative models to make farming a more profitable proposition for the country's farmers.

It is also expected to focus on credit-related issues of country's farmers and inclusion thereof in the institutional credit fold.