Bihar to Sell Kashmiri Apples | 29 Oct 2019

Bihar government has taken an initiative to help traders and farmers by selling Kashmiri apples through Biscomaun (Bihar State Cooperative Marketing Union Limited) and NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation Limited) at lower prices than the market.

Cooperatives

  • According to International Labour Organisation (ILO), a cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.
  • Cooperative Societies is a State Subject (Entry 32 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, i.e. State List).

History

  • The cooperative movement in India owes its origin to agriculture and allied sectors.
  • Initially, they were meant to meet the credit needs of people in rural and urban areas but after Independence cooperatives expanded to all walks of economic life.
  • The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2011 gave a constitutional status and protection to cooperative societies. In this context, it made the following three changes in the Constitution:
    • It made the right to form cooperative societies a fundamental right (Article 19).
    • It included a new Directive Principle of State Policy on promotion of cooperative societies (Article 43-B).
    • It added a new Part IX-B in the Constitution which is entitled as “The Cooperative Societies” (Articles 243-ZH to 243-ZT).

Importance

  • 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 2018.
    • 94% of the Indian farmers are members of at least one cooperative institution.
  • The spatial spread of the credit-cooperatives have contributed in their own way in moving towards financial inclusion.
  • The sector provides agricultural credits and funds where state and private sectors have not been able to do very much.

National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED)

  • NAFED is registered under the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act.
  • It was setup in 1958 with the objective to promote Cooperative marketing of Agricultural Produce to benefit the farmers.
  • Agricultural farmers are the members of the General Body of NAFED, who participate in the decision making process of NAFED.

Source: The Hindu