Agriculture & Rural Development Banks Transformed Agriculture Sector: Amit Shah

GG News Bureau

New Delhi, 17^th July. Agriculture and rural development banks, according to Union Home Affairs and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, have transformed agriculture. He was speaking at the National Conference of Agriculture and Rural Development Banks in New Delhi on Saturday.

The Home Minister said, the cooperative sector cannot expand without the creation of a centralised database. He said the Ministry of Cooperation is aiming to make PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Society) more multifunctional. In this respect, he noted, the Ministry has shared Model Bye-Laws with the states for consideration. He emphasised that new activities in PACS are being created by modifying rules that are 70 to 80 years old.

Shah said the Cooperative sector can only convert 70 crore, poor people of the country, into partners in the process of inclusive development. He emphasised that Agriculture and Rural Development Banks should not only function for banking, but also to support the objective for which banks were established. He said that it is the role of ARDBs to engage with farmers in villages and educate them on how to develop agriculture, enhance output, make agriculture more pleasant, and make farmers more rich.

The minister said, India ranks second in the world in agricultural activity, with 394 million acres of land. He said that if this area is connected to the irrigation system, farmers would be able to meet the country’s as well as the world’s food supply needs.