National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) is organizing a big meeting of chairmen of Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies in the district of Motihari in Bihar today on Monday. NCUI Chief Executive N Satyanarayan went in advance to oversee the preparations, though its President Chandra Pal Singh Yadav is not able to make it to the show, informed sources say.
More than 500 Chairmen representing PACS across the country are likely to participate in the event. The high-voltage programme scheduled on the pre Deepawali eve will have Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh as the Chief Guest.
”He is not only the chief guest, he is also managing the show as Motihari is his home town,” a source said to Indian Cooperative. Singh is said to be displaying keen interest in the success of the meeting.
Confirming the news NCUI President Chandra Pal Singh Yadav said the minister wanted us to hold a meeting of PACS chairmen and we are happy to do that. A paper has been prepared detailing comparative studies on PACS covering Bihar and other states, Yadav added.
Explaining the details of the programme, NCUI Chief Executive N Satyanarayan said the focus will be on helping PACS improve their performance in the state. Several top faculty members including one from VAMNICOM and another from NCDC are arriving in Motihari to give lectures on how to accomplish this aim.
ICDP of NCDC is also participating as D N Thakur, Joint MD has taken it upon himself to be personally present in the meeting, said a source.
Underlining the need to make PACS viable, Satyanarayan said ”we have prepared a project report with a separate chapter on Bihar. If PACS in the state have to improve they have to learn from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and other states.”
In these states the profit margin on loan disbursal being small for PACS to be viable , PACS lease out agricultural machinery to cooperative societies and individual farmers thereby increasing its earnings though hiring.
Satyanarayan also felt this is high time PACS got connected to Vyapar mandals and through that to district cooperative banks to what he described as “completing the circle of profit-making”.