Union Home Affairs and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah today said, agriculture and rural development banks have transformed agriculture. He was addressing the National Conference of Agriculture and Rural Development Banks in New Delhi.
He said that unless there is a unified database on the cooperative sector, expansion of this sector is not possible. He said, the Ministry of Cooperation is working towards making PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Society) multidimensional. He added that in this regard, the Ministry has shared Model Bye-Laws with the states for discussion. He highlighted that new activities in PACS are being added by changing 70 to 80-year-old laws.
Mr. Shah said the Cooperative sector can only convert 70 crore, poor people of the country, into partners in the process of inclusive development. He stressed that Agriculture and Rural Development Banks should not only work for banking, but their goal should also be to supplement the purpose for which banks were created. He said it is the responsibility of ARDBs to communicate with farmers in villages and make them aware of how to expand agriculture, increase yield, make agriculture comfortable and make the farmer prosperous.
The Minister said that India ranks second in the world in agricultural activities with 394 million acres of land. He pointed out that if this land is connected with the irrigation system, farmers can fulfill the food supply requirements of the country as well as the world.
