Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, today participated as the Chief Guest at the 'Cooperative Conference' held in Nashik, Maharashtra. During the event, Shri Shah inaugurated multiple initiatives aimed at strengthening the cooperative sector. The conference witnessed the presence of several distinguished personalities, including Union Minister of State for Cooperation Shri Murlidhar Mohol and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Shri Eknath Shinde.

In his address, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation highlighted that former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had coined the slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan," emphasizing the empowerment of farmers, agricultural labourers, and the armed forces. He said that Shastri Ji had begun strengthening farmers, agricultural laborers, and the army simultaneously. He further stated that here, through a single cooperative, "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" and a soil testing laboratory have been established together, integrating "Jai Vigyan" in the same place.

Shri Amit Shah remarked that while farming was often considered unprofitable in the past, he firmly believes that combining the cooperative movement with scientific advancements can make agriculture a lucrative business even today. He explained that farmers previously relied on traditional methods and were unaware of the specific nutrient composition of their soil. When Prime Minister Modi emphasized soil testing, it revealed that farmers were using fertilizers unnecessarily or neglecting essential nutrients. Shri Shah highlighted the benefits of the newly established state-of-the-art soil testing laboratory in Nashik, emphasizing its potential to transform local farming practices. The laboratory will provide detailed insights, such as the pH level of water used by farmers, whether sulphur needs to be added, what is the appropriate quantity of DAP, and which crops can yield higher profits. He emphasized that this facility would significantly benefit farmers by enabling informed and efficient agricultural practices.

Union Minister of Cooperation highlighted the multiple initiatives undertaken by the Venkateshwara Society. He announced the virtual inauguration of the Venkateshwara Cashew Processing Factory in Belgaon, which will process 24 tonnes of cashews daily, ensuring fair prices for 18,000 farmers engaged in cashew cultivation. He further mentioned that over 1,500 Gir cows have been introduced to produce various products while promoting organic farming using cow dung and cow urine. These initiatives, he emphasized, will not only enhance farmers' prosperity but also contribute to the protection of Mother Earth.

Shri Amit Shah encouraged farmers to adopt organic farming and emphasized the importance of obtaining organic certification to secure better prices for their produce. He highlighted that National Co-operative Organic Limited (NCOL), established under the Ministry of Cooperation by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, is designed to directly transfer profits from the sale of certified organic produce to farmers' bank accounts. He explained that this multinational organization purchases all certified organic produce from farmers, sells it in the market, and ensures that the profits are directly credited to the farmers’ accounts, thereby supporting their economic well-being.

Union Minister of Cooperation stated that for many years, those involved in the cooperative sector had been demanding the creation of a separate ministry, but their plea had gone unheard. It was only 75 years after independence that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi established the Cooperative Ministry, aiming to boost farmers' incomes across the nation. He emphasized that cooperation is the most profound expression of self-reliance. Without it, farmers cannot achieve self-reliance or prosperity. He highlighted that Prime Minister Modi has introduced the slogan "Sahkar Se Samriddhi” (Prosperity through Cooperation), and the Ministry of Cooperation has been entrusted with the responsibility of turning this vision into reality.

Shri Amit Shah said that now apart from cashew, the cultivation of pomegranate, grapes, sapodilla (chikoo), turmeric, onion, custard, apple, saffron and mango will work to bring all the farmers at one platform so that the farmers can get a good price for their produce in the coming days.

The Union Minister of Cooperation said that Venkateshwara Cooperative has done a commendable job of connecting farmers under solar energy, biofuel, CNG, water storage, fisheries, panchgavya agarbatti, organic farming and government brands, as well as they have worked to connect the jawans of the country. He said that jawans and farmers are the only two sections who live with Mother Earth without worrying about rain, sun, cold. He said that today both the jawans and the farmers came together through this program of cooperatives.

Shri Amit Shah said that the Government of India has created three new Multi-state Cooperatives for exporting farmers' products, preserving authentic sweet seeds, producing high-yielding seeds, and packaging, marketing, and branding of organic products. He said that the three cooperative institutions on the pattern of Amul, KRIBHCO and IFFCO will prove to be very important for the farmers of this country in the next 10 years. He said that all the Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) are being computerized, godowns are being built in the country through the cooperative sector and work has also been done to make the PACS multifunctional.

The Union Minister of Cooperation said that there was a dispute over income tax of 15 thousand crore rupees in cooperative sugar mills of Maharashtra, that we resolved. He said that the Modi government also reduced new taxes worth Rs 46 thousand crores.

He said that loans worth 10 thousand crore rupees have also been given to many cooperative sugar mills of the country through the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). He also said that profitable units created through ethanol blending. Shri Shah questioned the opposition leaders for what have they done for the cooperative sector, PACS, sugar mills and farmers when their government was in power.

Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji formed the Ministry of Cooperation, came up with the scheme of ethanol blending for sugar mills, resolved the issue of income tax, computerized PACS, made model bylaws of PACS and linked PACS with multidimensional activities.

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Raj/Vivek/Priyabhanshu/Pankaj