B.K. Mishra, Managing Director, National Federation of Fishers Cooperatives inaugurated the recent 3-day Leadership Development Program conducted by the National Center for Cooperative Education (NCCE of NCUI) at New Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion Mishra said” Fisheries Cooperatives, 20,000 in number around the country spear-headed the Blue Revolution in India. They are now providing livelihood to about 6 lakh fishermen in all the 29 states & union territories. That their presence in not restricted to the coastal regions – goes on to show that one’s determination can open avenues irrespective of the geographical and climatic restrictions”, declared Fishcopfed MD.
More than 42 fishermen representing their cooperatives from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Telangana attended the training program.
The Governing Body member of the National Fisheries Development Board Janardhan Gangaputra was also one of the participants.
The main objective of the program was to orient the participants towards basic features of cooperative ideology, management, various schemes for benefit of fishermen along with upgrading their leadership skills.
Speaking during the valedictory function N Satyanarayana, Chief Executive, NCCE emphasised on the important role being played by fishery cooperatives in the context of food security in India. He further appreciated the self-employment opportunities being provided by these cooperatives for a large number of the rural populace and hailed the efforts of FISHCOPFED in guiding and developing fisheries cooperatives.
Subject experts from NCCE, NCUI, Fishcopfed in addition to guest faculty members took various sessions on topics like cooperative principles & values, cooperative management, methods of cashless transactions, insurance and innovations in fishing. As most of the participants had come to Delhi for the first time, they were also given a tour of a few of the tourist spots of Delhi.
At the end of the program, the participants felt that though they had been associated with cooperatives for a long period of time but were unaware of various concepts and ideas of cooperatives and were thankful to NCCE and FISHCOPFED for conducting such programs which will enable them to take their fishery cooperatives to newer heights and in the process empower their members.
Mrs. Sandhya Kapoor, Dy. Director coordinated the program successfully.