Union Minister for Home Affairs and Cooperation, Amit Shah launched the organic food products under the brand name ‘Bharat Organics’ along with the logo, website and brochure of National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) while addressing the national symposium on ‘Promotion of Organic Products through Cooperatives’ organised by NCOL in New Delhi today.
In his address, Amit Shah said that natural farming is one of the many goals set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year of Amrit Mahotsav for building a self-reliant India. To achieve this goal, we have to work on many fronts and move ahead by coordinating between them. He said that the goal of taking natural farming above 50 per cent in India cannot be achieved without a multidimensional approach. These three works completed today are very important to achieve this goal. He said that it is a matter of great satisfaction for India that today we are not only self-reliant in the field of agricultural produce but are also surplus and we have to assess this journey.
Shah said that the bad consequences of excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides to increase production have started appearing before us today. Their excessive use has not only reduced fertility, polluted the land and water but has also given many diseases. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon farmers across the country to adopt natural farming. He said that in the last 5-6 years, lakhs of farmers have adopted natural farming and the number of such farmers is gradually increasing. He added that the problem for both farmers and consumers arises without proper certification. To solve this problem, the Union Cabinet approved the formation of NCOL on January 11, 2023.
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Union Minister of Cooperation said that National Cooperative Organics Limited has been formed to provide a platform to all the farmers doing natural farming across the country and to make arrangements for the marketing of their products. He said that today six products of Bharat Organics have also been launched in the market. Shah said that in the coming days, Bharat Organics will become the most trusted and biggest brand not only in India but also in the global organic food market.
He said that our track record shows, when cooperatives and farmers get the right platform, we perform best. He said that including the six products launched today, 20 products will be launched by December this year and the farmers producing them will start getting its benefits. He said that the sale of six products is starting from today through 150 outlets of Mother Dairy and these products will also be available online. Along with this, with the concept of Organic Under One Roof, a retail outlet network of all organic products is also being started today.
Amit Shah said that National Cooperative Organics Limited is jointly promoted by Amul, National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). It was launched with an authorised capital of Rs 500 crore. Till now, it has more than 950 members in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Nagaland and membership applications from more than 2000 cooperative institutions have been received.
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He said that National Cooperative Organics Limited is a multipurpose initiative, which will give momentum and direction to the country’s mission of land and water conservation and increasing food production. This will be the biggest undertaking of the country in the next five years. Shah said that this organisation will also work as a platform for marketing, branding and exporting the products of farmers engaged in natural farming. After integration, certification, testing, standardisation, procurement, storage processing, branding, labelling, packaging and marketing of organic products, the entire export work will be done by National Cooperative Organics Limited, which will give recognition to our organic products in the global market in the coming days.
Union Minister of Cooperation requested Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs) and progressive farmers across the country to associate with NCOL, strengthen the ‘Bharat Brand’ and make themselves prosperous through this brand. He said that every farmer associated with natural farming in the country should join National Cooperative Organics Limited. He added that whatever profit is earned from organic products in India and the world, should go directly into the bank accounts of the farmers. It has been decided to ensure that 50 per cent of the price received above the Minimum Support Price (MSP) will be deposited directly into the farmers’ bank accounts on a per-kilogram basis.
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Shah said that the Modi government has decided that by the year 2024, more than 25,000 members will join NCOL and this organisation has also started the work of creating a database of organic farmers. He expressed confidence that after the launch of ‘Bharat Brand’, India will stand very strongly in the world organic market in the next 10 years.
Meenesh Shah, Chairman, National Dairy Development Board, said, “Today we have launched the Bharat Organics brand with 40,000 packets ready for the market. Procurement is a very important aspect of the process. We will make networks for procurement, processing and distribution in the coming months. Currently, we are focussing on main staples like rice, pulses, wheat, wheat flour, sugar, and jaggery, among others. Later, we would expand our product portfolio to other staples. Further, we would also include milk and milk products too.”
“Currently, the Bharat Organics products are available with Mother Dairy outlets, our milk unions and online platforms. As the procurement increases in the coming months, we will develop further distribution channels,” the NDDB chairman added.
