Speaking on the occasion of an event to mark the 100th International Day of Cooperatives, Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah said today that in order to promote organic farming through cooperatives so that farmers get more than 30 per cent profits on their organic produce, the government would make Amul a nodal agency to undertake certification of the organic produce through developing a modern laboratory, and also market its own brands along with organic products of other cooperatives worldwide. He also said that the Ministry in association with the National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) would soon form a Cooperative University to popularize cooperative education in the country.
The event was organized by the Ministry of Cooperation and NCUI. The theme of this year’s International Day of Cooperatives is “Cooperatives Build an Aatmanirbhar Bharat and a Better World”. NCUI is an apex organization of the cooperative movement with a focus on cooperative education and training.
Shah further said that for soil improvement, through IFFCO and KRIBHCO, the government would work to ensure that there is 25–30 per cent increase in land productivity of the farmers in a year, and the target to be achieved for this should be 100 per cent in about five years. He announced that the two cooperatives would set up an export agency, under which cooperative organizations would be its members, and this agency would improve the quality of the products of cooperatives so that they could be exported worldwide and ensure that cooperatives get fair prices of their produce.
The government is preparing a database on cooperatives through which the gap areas can be known where cooperatives need to exist, and for this, the government intends to start an extension programme in association with NCUI, State Cooperative Banks and NABARD, Shah said.
Emphasizing the need for changing bye-laws for the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), he said that the draft bye-laws had been sent to the states for their comments. “Government will come up with a model law in this regard,” he said. He said that PACS should be converted into multi-purpose cooperatives, and they should diversify into new areas. He also said that the recent opening of the Government e-Marketplace (GEM) portal for cooperatives to buy their products would open new opportunities for them.
Speaking on the occasion, Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, said that cooperatives had to develop their tendency to undertake savings. “If all cooperatives develop the habit of savings, then they will never face the problem of generating funds,” he remarked. Rupala suggested that cooperatives could be ranked according to their saving capacity and amount of savings.
Former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu said that cooperatives with a mission for 2030 should focus on climate change, job creation at the local level, and agro biodiversity, for which there should be policy support from the Government. He further said that in the wake of limitations of the state-led economy and the market-driven growth model, the government should formulate an economic model which can develop societies, and for this, cooperatives, with a focus on socio-economic development, could come up with the best model to develop self-reliance (Atmanirbharta).
BL Verma, Union Minister of State for Cooperation, highlighted the new initiatives of his Ministry. He said that the recent digitalization of 63,000 PACS would strengthen these institutions and improve their efficiency. Dr Chandra Pal Singh Yadav, President, International Cooperative Alliance, Asia-Pacific (ICA-AP), emphasized the importance of the International Day of Cooperatives and said that the Indian cooperative movement should develop in such a way that it could become the global leader of the cooperative movement.
Earlier, Dileep Sanghani, President, NCUI, during his presidential address highlighted the recent initiatives of NCUI like NCUI Haat, which is providing a selling platform for the products of lesser-known cooperatives/SHGs, the starting of an Incubation Centre and a Skill Development Centre, etc. Dr Sudhir Mahajan, Chief Executive, NCUI, proposed the vote of thanks.