Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Monday said that there are immense opportunities in the cooperative sector and to exploit them, a means was needed to serve as a link between the farmer, the cooperatives and the global market and National Cooperative Export Limited would serve as that link.
He was addressing the ‘National Symposium on Cooperative Exports’ organized by the National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) in New Delhi today. He also released the logo, website and brochure of NCEL and distributed membership certificates to NCEL members, the Ministry of Cooperation informed in a press release.
Shah stated that NCEL was established after much deliberation with various objectives in mind that include increasing exports, especially agricultural exports, making farmers prosperous, changing crop patterns and enabling 2 crore farmers of the country to declare their land as natural by 2027. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed a multistate cooperative society which will sell the organic products from farmers practicing natural farming in the global market with a good packaging, reliable branding and high-quality certificates. With this, farmers will directly get about one and a half to two times the price of their organic products compared to what they are currently getting and this will open the way to prosperity for the farmers, he said.
Amit Shah said that India is the only country where four crops can be grown simultaneously and if even one of these crops can be used for biofuel, then India’s biofuel needs can be met and can be exported as well.
Shah said that another objective of setting up NCEL is to strengthen cooperatives sector in the country including rural areas and population dependent on agriculture. He informed that agricultural products and products from the rural areas contribute 15 percent to the country’s GDP while 60 percent of the total population is dependent on them. He said that NCEL will also work to strengthen the entire cooperative structure in the country.
Shah said that with the launch of NCEL, the cooperative will act as a link between the farmers and the global demand for milk products, Isabgol (Psyllium), cumin, ethanol and a variety of organic products. He said that till now about 1500 cooperatives have become members of NCEL and that till now, NCEL has received orders worth Rs 7,000 crore and orders worth Rs 15,000 crore are being negotiated.
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Union Minister of Cooperation that about 42 percent of the total finance provided to the farmers of the country is done through cooperatives and that there are immense opportunities in the cooperative sector and to exploit them, a means was needed, to serve as a link between the farmer, the cooperatives and the global market and National Cooperative Export Limited would serve as that link.
NCEL will not focus only on profits, but focusing on the farmer will be its primary goal, Shah stated, stressing that to increase exports, export-oriented mindset will have to be nurtured in the farmers, the crop pattern will have to be changed and the entire system of branding, packaging and marketing will have to be created by spreading awareness among the farmers.
Shah said that National Cooperative Export Limited will provide necessary finance and information to small societies, will provide information about the intricacies involved and necessary precautions required while exporting, and will also work for the production of export friendly materials. Apart from this, NCEL will also do work like setting parameters for brand awareness, quality awareness, necessary infrastructure and standardization of the product for small farmers at a nominal fee.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that NCEL will become an organization representing the entire cooperative sector and in the coming days, efforts will be made to develop it into a complete export ecosystem covering all aspects like procurement, storage, processing, marketing, branding, labeling, packaging, certification and research and development. He said that NCEL will also work on connecting with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of External Affairs and our embassies abroad with the Whole of Government Approach for market linkages. Apart from this, a design will be prepared by keeping Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) and Primary Agriculture Cooperative Credit Societies (PACS) together so that the production is as per the market demand.
