Guwahati: Assam finance minister Jayanta Malla Baruah called for region-specific farm financing, wider institutional credit and stronger value chains.Addressing the “Financing Agriculture Sector Transformation” session at the Union finance ministry’s “Financing India’s Journey towards Viksit Bharat” conference in New Delhi, Baruah said uniform frameworks may not address states’ diverse production patterns, geography and financing needs.“Uniform financial and agricultural frameworks may not always address the specific requirements of every State. Regional production patterns and local realities must be considered while designing support mechanisms,” he said.Baruah sought an inclusive financing approach for the northeast, highlighting difficulties faced by tenant and leasehold farmers, cultivators on govt land, Forest Rights Act beneficiaries and small tea growers in securing institutional credit because of land-title constraints.He said the rollout of farmer IDs in Assam could enable targeted support for such cultivators.The minister also called for stronger links across the agricultural value chain — from production and primary processing to storage, marketing and exports — to ensure better and more predictable returns.He stressed decentralised processing and value-addition facilities near production centres, particularly for perishable produce that could deteriorate within two to five days of harvest. Such infrastructure could reduce post-harvest losses and help rural communities retain more of the value generated from their produce, he said.Baruah identified agarwood, ginger, turmeric and indigenous products as having value-addition and export potential. For agarwood, he sought streamlined regulatory clearances, quality-testing facilities, local processing infrastructure and stronger export channels.
