Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah chaired a review meeting of National Cooperative Organic Limited at the Ministry of Cooperation in New Delhi on Wednesday which was attended by MoS Murlidhar Mohol, Secretary Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Additional Secretary Pankaj Bansal, Chairman and Managing Director of National Cooperative Organic Limited Minesh Shah, Chairman of NABARD Shaji K.V., and senior officials of the Ministry were present on the occasion.
During the meeting, Amit Shah stated that all PACS in the country should be linked to the organic mission, and a campaign should be launched to promote organic products. He emphasized giving special attention to identifying sources of organic products and ensuring their purity.
Amit Shah said NCOL should focus on building a strong supply chain of authentic organic products from farmers to customers under its “Bharat Organics” brand. He stressed that NCOL must ensure mandatory testing of each batch of “Bharat Organics” products to guarantee purity and authenticity for customers. He also suggested encouraging farmers associated with Amul dairies and NDDB institutions to adopt organic farming.
Amit Shah highlighted that farmers should receive fair and attractive prices for their organic products to encourage organic farming. He instructed NCOL and the Ministry of Cooperation to hold discussions with Amul to determine the prices of organic flour and organic Arhar dal in farmers’ interest, motivating them to adopt organic farming practices.
He further noted that increased awareness and effective marketing would drive demand for organic products nationwide. He appealed for promoting organic products during upcoming festivals.
Amit Shah called for PACS to become sources of organic agricultural products, centers for the sale of organic products, and centers for seed sales, thereby promoting institutions like NCOL, NCEL, and BBSSL. He recommended including at least one young farmer in each of the 2 lakh cooperative societies to strengthen local cooperative structures. Additionally, he emphasized the importance of training PACS members and farmers.
The Union Minister of Cooperation directed NABARD, in collaboration with the Ministry of Cooperation, to develop a mechanism ensuring loans are available to farmers according to their financial capacity.
