Shah stresses role of cooperatives in sustainable agriculture
PANCHKULA: Union Home and Cooperation minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday that Haryana is scripting new chapters of farmers’ prosperity with effective integration of agriculture, animal husbandry, and the cooperative movement.
Addressing a national cooperative conference organised by Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO) on the theme “Role of Cooperation in Sustainable Agriculture” in Panchkula, he underlined that cooperation is no longer confined to employment generation but has emerged as a strong prosperity engine.
Among others, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Union Minister of State for Cooperation Krishan Pal Gurjar, and Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation Ashish Kumar Bhutani were present during the conference. Amit Shah inaugurated a milk chilling centre and a HAFED flour mill, distributed RuPay Platinum cards, handed over registration certificates of model Primary Agricultural Credit Societies and launched a portal marking the International Year of Cooperatives.
The Union minister said about 70 per cent of India’s population lives in rural areas and depends directly or indirectly on agriculture and animal husbandry.
Linking these sectors with cooperation ensures, he says, that profits reach farmers instead of intermediaries. Citing the example of Amul, he said cooperative strength allows milk producers to earn manifold times more than market-linked sales, showing the true potential of cooperation.
Shah said modern agriculture needed to stand on three legs: minimum water usage, natural farming with minimum use of chemicals, and minimum risk due to scientific selection of crops. Agriculture under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slowly freeing itself from the cycle of subsidy-sustainability-profits, he added, citing initiatives like soil health cards, expanded irrigation, institutional credit, market access, and digital agriculture.
He underlined that reforms include the increase in the agriculture budget, which has gone up more than five times in the last 11 years, while the rural development Budget increased over two-and-a-half-fold during the period.
He also cited model bylaws for PACS, integration of close to 30 activities with PACS and creating national cooperative bodies for exports, organics and seeds as part of the other important measures taken by the government to enhance farmers’ income. The Union minister also declared that a cooperative-based “Bharat Taxi” service will be inaugurated shortly, ensuring accruals of profits directly to drivers along with insurance and other benefits. He finally finished praising the contribution of Haryana towards food security, defence and sports, saying that it was the pillar of national strength and self-reliance.
