The finale of the international cooperatives conference was witnessed in the NCUI auditorium in the capital on Thursday. CEO of NCUI Dr. Dinesh’s opening remarks set a tone for the discussions that followed during the conference.
There was a galaxy of speakers drawn from the cooperative world on the dais and a huge appreciative audience willing to listen to them. Indeed there was a perfect milieu for discussions.
Dr. Bijendra Singh Chairman NAFED chaired the first session that began with Jaya Arunachalam president Indian Cooperative Network for Women, Chennai presenting a highly nuanced discussion on the issue of women empowerment. Dwelling on the subject at length, among other things she appealed to the cooperatives to devise the ways and means of enabling Indian women to assert themselves and their point of view in the country’s current scheme of things.
Mrs Jainuddin from Malaysia discussed the role of the cooperative organisations in encouraging and promoting gender eqality. She said the govt in Malasia have brought in such policies as have given preference to women in the field of health and child health, thus implementing the basic principles of cooperative.
Mr. Prakash Lonare presided over the second session where H.K. Patil president NAFCUB lamented the horrible conditions of the cooperative banks. He pointed out the importance of the cooperatives in the context of the paradigm shift sweeping the country’s economy.
J N Srivastava former secretary govt of india emphasised the critical role of the human resources factor in the context of the development of the cooperative institutions. He strongly advocated a rapid and optimal technologisation of the cooperative sector.
R.K. Tiwari joint secretary and Central Registrar of cooperatives dwelt on the importance of appropriate policies in strengthening the Indian cooperative sector during this session. Describing the conference as a milestone, he underlined the crucial role of the cooperative sector in the country’s economic transformation.
Suresh Prabhu former Union Minister praised the UNO for observing the current year as the international year of cooperatives. He called for the application of the cooperative principles in empowering the masses. He said with the help of the cooperatives poverty could be greatly reduced and the poor would not get poorer and the rich would not get richer.
Roby Tulus former Regional Director ICA Asia-pacific shed light on the necessity and role of the cooperatives in the presentday world. According to him, the role of the cooperatives in the changing global economy needs to be adequately valued.
The two day conference had deliberations & brain storming sessions on challenges for cooperatives, corporate governance in cooperatives, new initiatives required by cooperatives to strengthen the socio-economic structure of nations, community development & women empowerment. International issues such as food security, education & development of cooperatives in Asia-Pecific region. The conference was attended by delegates from China, Japan, Korea, Srilanka & Mauritius. Top representatives from national level cooperatives like NAFED, KRIBHCO, NCUI, NCDC and NABARD shared their views during the conference. The conference was in line with global celebrations for International Year of Cooperatives 2012 announced by UN.
Dr. U. S Awasthi, Managing Director, IFFCO expressed his happiness and applauded the role of cooperatives in community & nation building. He assured that IFFCO is committed to the farmers of India and it will keep on surpassing its previous records to emerge as the global leader in both the production as well as marketing of fertilizers. He also said that IFFCO will keep on serving the farmers at their best and will try to bring new innovations for serving the rural & farming community in India.
The conference was concluded by closing remarks from Sh. Charan Das Mahant, Minister of State for Agricluture & food processing.