A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between National Co-operative Organics Limited (NCOL) and Uttarakhand Organic Commodity Board (UOCB) was signed in New Delhi today in the presence of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah.
Many dignitaries including Union Minister of State for Cooperation, Krishna Pal Gurjar, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Government of Uttarakhand, Ganesh Joshi and Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani, were present on the occasion.
In his address during the event, Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set a target to prepare the vast cultivable land of this country for organic farming. He said that today the movement for organic farming has reached an important stage. Shah said that Cooperatives have an important role in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India the world’s largest organic food producing country.
Union Minister of Cooperation said that Prime Minister Modi had set the goal of doubling the income of farmers of the country and one of the two important points was to promote organic farming.
Shah said that today there is an awareness about organic products all over the world and there is a huge global market for the same. When we increase India’s share by tapping this market, the share of our farmers in the profitable business of organic products and their income also increases.
Amit Shah said that the health of the citizens of the country is also linked with organic farming. He said that the chemicals that enter our body through the use of fertilizers cause many types of diseases. He added that this has also reduced the quality of the land, so much so, that in many states the land has started becoming as hard as cement, due to which the risk of floods has also increased. Shri Shah said that on the contrary, with organic farming, the groundwater level increases, water is saved, production increases and the health of the consumer improves as well. Despite all these benefits, organic farming was not duly promoted.
Union Minister of Cooperation underlined that, earlier, there was no mechanism to check the quality of organic products and farmers did not get high prices. Also, there was hesitation in using these products. Shri Shah said that to solve this issue, the Modi government established the National Co-operative Organics Limited (NCOL). He said that Amul and NCOL together will establish a network of international level laboratories across the country which will examine both, organic land and products. He said that both these recognized institutions will provide reliable organic products to consumers as ‘Bharat’ and ‘Amul’ brands.
Amit Shah said that now with the formation of NCOL, within a few years, we will ensure that all the profits from organic products directly go to the bank accounts of the producing farmers. He stated that it is possible only in a cooperative set up. Shri Shah said that in another 2 -3 years, products of ‘Bharat’ brand will cover all types of vegetarian food.
Union Minister of Cooperation said that the organic products of Bharat brand are reliable in terms of quality and organic property, and are inexpensive as the motive of cooperatives is not making money. He said all profits from the organic products is going to increase the income of farmers of the country. He added that all these objectives will be met through NCOL and soon ‘Bharat’ brand will become a trusted brand.
Amit Shah called upon farmers engaged in organic farming across the country to join with the NCOL. He said that all the organic rice, pulses and wheat produced by the farmers will be purchased by the government. He said that in a short time, NCOL will create a smooth mechanism to send the profits directly to the bank accounts of the farmers. He said that a similar experiment in the dairy sector is successfully taking place all over the country today and crores of farmers are getting the profit of their dairy products directly in their bank accounts through cooperatives.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation urged the farmers of Uttarakhand to make their farms completely organic and encourage other fellow farmers towards natural farming. He said that farmers of Uttarakhand should make their fields completely organic and stop using fertilizers.
Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Modi has set a target of making India the world’s largest producer of organic food. For this, the Modi government has also created a cooperative society for the export of farmers’ products, the National Cooperative Export Limited (NCEL). Shah said that NCEL will take the ‘Bharat’ brand, being developed by NCOL, to the global market.
