With the rest of the country, Nagaland also celebrated the 69th All India Cooperative Week today here at the Capital Convention Hall, Kohima.
Gracing the celebration as Guest of Honor, Minister Agriculture & Cooperation G Kaito Aye pointed out that the cooperative societies have become the engines of the social and economic development of the people. “The cooperatives should lead to the sustainable development,” he added.
Minister Aye urged all to let the cooperative movement be a successful one so that it leads to the economic and social development of the people especially in the rural areas.
He also highlighted that one of the major issues hindering the progress and development of the cooperative movement in Nagaland is the rampant presence of “non-functioning cooperative societies” and “one-man cooperative societies.”
He stated that till date 566 non-functioning cooperative societies out of the existing 8,000 have been cancelled by the department and hoped that the department would take serious action even in the coming years.
Aye asserted that the Nagaland government has always taken a pro-active role in the development of the cooperative movement in the state. In the recent years, the state government has taken advantage of the social capital and initiated ‘One village-One Cooperative society,’ he said.
Under this, each household is represented in the Co-operative Society with the society acting as the economic counterpart of the village panchayat, providing all credit and non-credit services to its members, he informed.
Aye further stated that the cooperative movement in Nagaland has the scope to be strong because Nagas have an organised community that can work together and develop a strong cooperative spirit.
Observing that Cooperation is a small department where funds from the state are limited and Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) are not made available, the minister stated: “it has slowed down the progress and visibility of the department”.
He requested NABARD, NEIDA, NCDC and other funding agencies to extend all possible help and assistance towards the Nagaland Cooperative Movement.
The minister also informed that the Integrated Cooperative Development Project (ICDP) a CSS program with a block cost of Rs 52 crores, is a four-year Compact Area Development project currently being implemented in Kohima, Tuensang, Kiphire, Peren and Longleng districts. The project is nearing completion, he added.
Aye said the ICDP project has resulted in the creation of 6 Collection Centres, 300 Micro ATM’s, 42 Pick-up Marketing Vehicles, 18 Marketing Godowns, 3 customized marketing bus, 304 piggery units, Fruit preservation unit in Tuensang, 2 Marketing Complex and 1,230 hectares of new agri/horti cultivation areas.
Further he said the Cooperative week should aim to strengthen the cooperative movement and focus on the various activities of the cooperatives.
Chendang IMPCS Ltd Tuensang and Chedema IMPCS Ltd Kohima receiving the Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (MPCS) award.
The Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (MPCS) was awarded to Chendang IMPCS Ltd Tuensang and Chedema IMPCS Ltd Kohima. The awardees shared their experiences during the programme.
Earlier, a video entitled ‘A Nagaland Perspective from cooperation to prosperity’ was also screened.
