At a high-level review meeting in New Delhi, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah chaired discussions on the progress and future roadmap of the world’s largest cooperative food grain storage scheme. This ambitious initiative aims to significantly strengthen rural India’s economic backbone by leveraging the network of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).
Shah highlighted the scheme’s twin goals: enhancing India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and boosting rural employment. By empowering PACS, grassroots-level cooperative institutions, the initiative seeks to increase local income generation and create sustainable livelihood opportunities. The storage infrastructure is expected to serve as a long-term asset for rural communities, improving food security and strengthening supply chain resilience across the country.
A major thrust of the review was the vital role to be played by National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Ltd. (NCCF).
Shah emphasized that both organizations, with their vast experience in procurement, marketing, and warehousing, must actively support PACS in building and managing storage facilities. Their institutional capabilities will help ensure quality standards, enhance operational efficiency, and make PACS financially robust.
NAFED’s deep-rooted presence in agricultural procurement and marketing will be instrumental in integrating PACS into broader agricultural value chains. By linking storage infrastructure with actual commodity flow, NAFED can help transform rural PACS from passive entities into active nodes in India’s food economy.
NCCF, on the other hand, with its consumer-focused distribution network, can assist PACS in expanding their reach to urban markets, ensuring better price realization for farmers and reducing post-harvest losses.
Shah called for the timely mapping of warehouses by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), ensuring that PACS are aligned with strategically located storage hubs. He also directed FCI, NCCF, NAFED, and State Warehousing Corporations to facilitate operational linkages and extend technical and financial support to PACS wherever required.
Furthermore, the Minister urged state governments and their cooperative marketing federations to step up their involvement and include as many PACS as possible in the scheme.
The review concluded with a call for coordinated action among all stakeholders. Shah reiterated that the success of this scheme hinges on timely implementation, cross-agency collaboration, and PACS-centric planning. If executed well, it has the potential to transform India’s rural economy, democratize food storage, and mark a milestone in cooperative-driven development.
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