Farmers to be economically strengthened through cooperatives

Patna, May 8 (UNI) In order to economically strengthen farmers, the Bihar government has decided to implement the recommendations of Baidyanathan Committee advocating autonomy to the cooperatives.

Bihar Cooperative Minister Giriraj Singh told newspersons here that the government was striving for simplification and transparency in the functionings of the cooperatives.

Mr Singh said apart from providing fertilisers, seeds and pesticides to the farmers, their yields would be purchased through Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS).

In order to cater to the needs of the farmers, micro-financing facility would be provided to them through PACS, he stated.

The Minister stated that the PACS would be constituted in all the 8,400 Panchayats and its elections would be held by the end of November this year once the membership drive was over.

The government would provide the membership fees to women and the members belonging to the SC, ST and backward categories.

He said the business hub was being set up in seven districts namely Gopalganj, Madhubani, Gaya, Sitamarhi, Ara, Chapra and Siwan under the Integrated Cooperative Development Project (ICDP).

He said 51 such business hubs with the facilities of godown, rice mills, flour mills and others would be established in the financial year 2008-09.

The Minister also elaborated the innovative idea of providing electricity using biomass gassyfire to different mills of small-scale category industries, set up under the PACS, saying his Department was contemplating for non-conventional source of energy produced from the waste materials of the mills.

A power system of 65 KVA based of biomass gassyfire was being set up under a pilot project in Gopalganj, he added.

These biomass gassyfire besides supplying electricity to the mills during day time would also provide power to the villages during night.

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