Union Minister of Cooperation inaugurates the National Mega Conclave on FPO in the cooperative sector

Source: The post is based on the article “Union Minister of Cooperation inaugurates the National Mega Conclave on FPO in the cooperative sector” published in PIB on 14th July 2023

What is the News?

The Union Minister of Cooperation has addressed the National Mega Conclave on Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) in the cooperative sector.

The minister also released an action plan for the formation of 1,100 new FPOs by Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).

What are the key highlights from the address of the Minister at the conference?

On Cooperatives sector in India: Cooperatives in India can be divided into three categories: 1) states, where the cooperative movement has been successful in advancing and strengthening itself 2) states, where the cooperative movement is still going on and 3) States, where the cooperative movement is almost dead.

– About 65 crore people in India are engaged in agriculture. Hence, it is important to revive the cooperative movement, modernize it, bring transparency in it and aim to achieve new heights.

On FPOs: The idea of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) was conceived in 2003 by the Yogendra Alagh Committee.

– Currently, 11,770 FPOs are working in the country and through these and through these, lakhs of farmers of the country have been successful in increasing their income.

– It was announced in the budget to set up 10,000 FPOs and the target is to achieve this by the year 2027.

Importance of Agriculture and allied activities:  Agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries sectors are the backbone of the country’s economy and strengthening them will strengthen the country’s economy.

– The three sectors together make up 18 percent of India’s GDP, but are never discussed in the country.

– Unlike manufacturing, if agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries sectors are strengthened through cooperatives, then employment opportunities will increase along with the GDP. 

Agriculture Budget: The budget allocation for the agriculture sector has increased by 5.6 times. In 2013-14, the agriculture budget was Rs 21,000 crore, it has now increased to Rs 1.15 lakh crore in the year 2023-24.