New Delhi: The first ever ‘India International Cooperatives Trade Fair’(IICTF) was inaugurated today by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar at Pragati Maidan. The 3 day event is being held from today till 13th October, 2019. As 94% of total farmers in India are members of at least one cooperative institution,IICTF is aimed at furthering Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government’s vision and goal of doubling farmers’ income by promoting cooperative-to-cooperative trade within India abroad and promoting exports of key agriculture commodities and products leading to enhanced rural and farm prosperity.
Addressing the gathering at the inaugural ceremony, Tomar said that today is a proud day for all as on this pure land of India, an event of this scale is being organised by NCDC along with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Ministry of Commerce. The Minister said that it is the result of all their combined efforts that we have witnessed such wide participation not just from Indian cooperatives but also from International ones from 35 countries across the globe.
Tomar expressed happiness and said that IICTF offers huge opportunity for the industry and business houses from India and abroad to build alliances, business networking, product sourcing and above all, interacting with the primary producers of a wide range of products and service providers. The Minister said that this event will introduce Indian products to a wider Indian and International market and also provide an opportunity for participating countries to showcase their products in the Indian market.
Union Agriculture Minister further added that cooperation is at the core of Indian values and culture. He said that any cooperative, if has good cooperative feeling then no one can stop it from progressing but if the cooperative feeling is missing then it will be difficult for them to progress and prosper. Tomar said that this event is a historic occasion for discussing threadbare the challenges being faced by Cooperatives across the nation. Tomar cited the example of Amul saying it is a cooperative which has succeeded in entering every home of the country.
In line with Government’s focus on programmes like Start-up India and Stand-up India aimed at young entrepreneurs with new and innovative ideas, National Cooperative Development Corporation has formulated YuvaSahakar-Cooperative Enterprise Support and Innovation Scheme 2019 which was also launched at the fair. Sahakar Bharati, the single largest organisation focusing on enlightening masses about the benefit of cooperative movement also showcased and launched their brand ‘Simply desi’ which will provide good marketing and branding opportunities for cooperatives.
