Labs under aegis of Amul to be set up in all districts to test, certify organic products: Shah

New Delhi: Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Monday announced that the government has decided to make dairy major Amul a nodal agency for setting up laboratories to test and certify organic products and also help in the global marketing of these products to increase farmers' income.

The government will also set up two dedicated export houses for branding and overseas shipments of products of cooperatives.

Addressing a conference to commemorate the 100th International Day of Cooperatives, the minister said Amul has been given the task of testing and certifying the reliability of organic products.

"Amul will work with its brand to sell all these organic products in India as well as in global markets so that farmers engaged in organic farming get at least 30 per cent more price for their products," Shah said.

He said a cooperative society will be formed under Amul (other cooperatives too will join) to set up laboratories in each district of the country for testing of soil and organic products. Amul will be the nodal agency.

The minister further said the government has decided that two big cooperative export houses will be registered to take care of the quality of products of cooperative institutions across the country, make their production channel at par with the global market and become a medium for export of these products.

He also said the government has roped in IFFCO and KRIBHCO, the two large cooperatives, for reforms in seed segment for improving the crop productivity.

Shah informed that the government has allowed cooperative societies to purchase through GeM.

The Ministry of Cooperation is also maintaining a database of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).

The minister called upon the cooperative sector's workers to imbibe the principles of cooperation to give cooperatives a long life, to make them relevant, to make them a contributor to the country's economy and to make these 70 crore aspirational people self-reliant.

Shah told the gathering that the government has decided to set up a National Cooperative University for training, which will tie up with the National Cooperative Federation to arrange training of persons in the cooperative sector.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Parshottam Rupala said the cooperatives have to develop the tendency to undertake savings.

If all cooperatives develop the habit of savings, then they will never face the problem of generating funds, he added.

Rupala suggested that the rankings of cooperatives can be done according to their saving capacity and amount of savings.

Former union minister Suresh Prabhu also made a case for policy support for the cooperatives from the government. He also suggested that the cooperatives should be taxed differently or should not be taxed at all.

(With PTI inputs)

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