MUMBAI, June 20: Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Friday announced that National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) will soon begin direct procurement from farmers, eliminating intermediaries from the agricultural production process.
He was speaking at a national seminar held in Mumbai on the occasion of the International Year of Cooperatives.
Shah expressed confidence that this move will help farmers get fair prices for their produce, and farmers can sell dal, maize and oilseeds to NAFED if they register on its app. But if the market rate is more, they can sell the produce directly,
He also stated that the government will soon launch an insurance company based on the cooperative model.
The cooperative movement weakened in the northern and eastern parts of India and was stable only in western parts of the country. But we are already taking steps to transform the sector by making it grow symmetrically from its present uneven growth,” the Union Home and Cooperation Minister said.
The Union Minister informed that two lakh new Primary Agricultural Credit Societies will be established across the country.
Shah expressed confidence that in the next ten years, large cooperative institutions will emerge in three key areas, exports, organic food, and seeds, which will make a valuable contribution to improving farmers’ quality of life.
“We will make the co-operative sector progress by strengthening it at all levels in the country,” he said.
GDP is not the only parameter for growth. Cooperative sector boosts growth and economy by providing more profit and employment opportunities with less capital, Shah added.
The cooperative movement revolutionised the rural economy. In Gujarat, 36 lakh women associated with Amul (dairy cooperative), did not even have Rs 100 as capital, but today its turnover of Rs 80,000 crore, he said.
On this occasion, five NAFED products were launched, and grants or shares were distributed to five farmer producer companies by dignitaries. (UNI)
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