Shri Pawar Exhorts Cooperatives to bring in Reforms, Good Governance Agriculture & Food Processing Industries Minister, Shri Sharad Pawar today exhorted cooperatives to bring in reforms in their working. They must function on professional lines and add value to their services, he said. The Minister was addressing the 16th Indian Cooperatives Congress here today. The Congress was inaugurated by the President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee. Further emphasising the importance of good governance and democratic functioning for cooperatives, the Minister expressed the hope that the 97th Constitutional Amendment will go a long way in protecting and insulating the cooperatives from avoidable political and bureaucratic interference. Talking about the recent steps taken by the Government for better functioning of and strengthening cooperative movement in the country, Shri Pawar said: “It has been the endeavour of the Government to evolve an appropriate policy and legislative framework to create conducive environment for the growth of cooperative. This includes framing of National Policy on Cooperative, enactment of Multi-State Cooperative Society Act, assistance to cooperative education and training, implementation of recommendation of Vaidhyanathan Committee for revitalisation of Short Term Credit structure, 97th Constitutional Amendment Act and proposed amendment to MSCS Act 2010 etc. are some of the worthy initiatives to be mentioned. 97th Constitutional Amendment is a very important and major initiative to strengthen and reinvigorate the cooperative sector. The objective of this Constitutional Amendment is to ensure that cooperative societies in the country function in a democratic, professional, autonomous and economically sound manner. As the Minister handling Cooperative sector with my roots firmly rooted in the land known for its success in cooperative sector, it was a proud moment for me to pilot the Constitution Amendment Bill in the Parliament, declaring the "Right to form Cooperative Societies" as a Fundamental Right.” Shri Pawar emphasised the role of cooperatives in the agriculture sector. He said: “While cooperatives have been successful in many other fields, their contribution in Agriculture and allied sector is immense. Hon’ble President, during the address to both houses of Parliament in February this year, you appreciated the achievements by mentioning that there are reasons to cheer in the agriculture sector. Though my ministry does not believe in boasting about its achievements, I must convey my sincere thanks to each and every farmer of this country, through all of you present here, for toiling hard to achieve, year after year record food grain production. Ours is the only sector in the country, which has almost achieved its 11 plan target of 4% growth rate. While feeding 17 percent of world’s population we have emerged as strong player in international market helping to cool down the world food prices. “The agriculture sector in India has a large number of primary cooperatives handling supply of agriculture inputs, credit, and marketing and storage activities. Unless, cooperatives are strengthened through pro-active support, we will not be able to address the challenge of food-grain production posed due to implementation of proposed Food Security Bill. For successful implementation of the provisions of this Bill we need to strengthen our agriculture and cooperative sector in addition to addressing the issues on distribution side. “A vast network of cooperatives’ extension system which is the backbone of Indian agriculture has played an important role in taking the technology to the farmers. In order to bridge the knowledge gap the government has introduced a system of Agriculture Technology, Management Agency (ATMA) in all the districts of the country. It provides a platform to undertake extension activity in the rural areas by the cooperatives and other agencies and it is hoped that it will function as a catalyst in facilitating extension services in the rural areas. In order to maintain a sustainable agriculture sector we need to have a very strong cooperative sector as a key factor for higher growth rate of Indian economy. It is necessary to ensure bigger role for cooperative in the area of rural infrastructure, delivery of agri-input, credit and other services. The development of human resource in the cooperative sector is a pre-requisite for improving the capability of the farmers to compete in the market place.”
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 08:18:40 +0000
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