India International Cooperative Trade Fair

News:A three-day India International Cooperative Trade Fair will be held in New Delhi from 11th October,2019.

Facts:

About the India International Cooperative trade fair:

• The trade fair is aimed at promoting cooperative-to-cooperative trade within India and abroad leading to enhanced rural and farm prosperity.
• It is a unique initiative for taking farmers, artisans & other members of cooperatives directly to the global trade platform.
• It is being conducted by the National Cooperative Development Corporation(NCDC) with the support of Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives(NEDAC), Ministries, State Governments and several apex level Indian cooperative organizations.

Significance of trade fair:

• The Cooperative sector has a big role to play in doubling agriculture exports from present US $ 30 billion to US$ 60 billion+ by 2022 as envisaged in the Agriculture Export Policy.
• An estimated 94% of the Indian farmers are members of at least one cooperative institution.
• Hence, the trade fair would be a major platform to promote exports by cooperatives with direct benefits to their members who are mainly farmers, artisans, women,SC /ST among others.

Additional information:

About NCDC:

• National Cooperative Development Corporation(NCDC) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1963 as a statutory Corporation under Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. 
• It has many regional centres to provide financial assistance to Cooperatives or Societies or Federations.

About NEDAC:

• The Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific is a unique regional forum linking 21 apex cooperative organizations in 12 countries.
• It was set up in 1991 by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO)’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
• The NEDAC member organizations include Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand.