PUNE: President of National Co-operative Union of India (NCUI), G H Amin on Monday said that the co-operative movement in India has not been affected due to global slowdown of economy owing to its characteristic philosophy.

“The major strength of co-operative movement is that it originates from the convergence of economy, social and cultural needs of members and not the convergence of capital to serve the profit motives of the investors like corporate or other commercial organisations,” he said.

Amin, who is also a chairman of National Council for Co-operative Training (NCCT), was speaking at the national symposium on ‘Global crisis-an opportunity for co-operatives,’ jointly organised by Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Co-operative Management (VAMNICOM) and NCCT.

Amin said that the co-operative movement in the country has almost covered all important economic sectors providing necessary goods and services to improve the quality of life of people.

“There are more than 5.8 lakh co-operative organisations in India with over 24 crore membership and working capital of nearly 4.89 lakh crore,” Amin said.

He further said that the co-operative credit institutions are disbursing about 45 per cent of agricultural credit in the country and the share of co-operative organisations in the sugar production is about 46.2 per cent.

He appealed to the co-operative players to prepare themselves with all desired professionalism for sustainability and growth in the scenario of global recession.

Amin also said that the National Co-operative Union of India through NCCT with a network of 20 training units spread all over India has been making all possible efforts to support and promote the co-operative movement by designing innovative polices and programmes.

National level inter-university debate competition themed on ‘Co-operatives-a tool for socio-economic development of rural India’ also kicked off on the occasion.

Over 125 students from 40 universities from all over the county are participating in the three-day competition.

Director of VAMNICOM Nitin Gadre, director general of Vasantdada Sugar Institute Shivaji Deshmukh, Dean, faculty of management, University of Pune Dr CM Chitale, Chairman of Cosmos Bank, Pune M L Abhyankar also spoke.

Kakinada: Collector Gopalakrishna Dwivedi said he would let the farmers’ request to introduce an insurance scheme for coconut trees, known to the Government and insurance companies.

Steps were meanwhile being taken to purchase their produce through the NAFED centres and thereby ensure remunerative prices.

Mr. Dwivedi was replying to a question through telephone by a farmer Adabala Swami of Kesanapalli village in Malkipuram mandal during the Grievances’ Day programme as to what the departments concerned were doing to alleviate the plight of coconut farmers.

The Collector observed that the NAFED centres were aimed at eliminating middlemen from the market, for which necessary instructions were issued to the mandal revenue officers.

Fertiliser company Kribhco said it has decided to modernise its ammonia and urea manufacturing plant in Surat at an estimated Rs 1,301 and raise production capacity through technology transfer from the US and Italy.

As per the plan, technology for the plant would be transferred from US-based Kellogg Borwn Root, a global engineering, construction and services firm, while an Italian firm Saipem would provide the technology for the urea plant, a company statement said.

The modernisation programme is estimated to cost Rs 1,301 crore and it would be completed by September 2011, it said.

The company has proposed to enhance its production capacity of Ammonia from the current levels of 10.03lakh MT annually to 12.47 lakh MT and that of its Urea plant from 17.29 lakh MT to 21.94 lakh MT, the company said.

The company has projected to reduce energy consumption post the modernisation of its plant, a senior company official said.

Bhubaneswar: Fertilizer major IFFCO Paradip unit added another feather in its cap when Union minister for power Sushil Kumar Shinde conferred the National Energy Conservation Award-2009 on it at a conference in New Delhi recently.

IFFCO executive director MR Patel, who received the prestigious award expressed satisfaction over the continuous improvement in the performance of the Paradip unit. Besides achieving an all-time high production of 13 lakh tonnes during 2008-09 despite the instability in international price of raw materials, the unit has also started selling its surplus power to GRIDCO from this year.

On the ground of non-compliance of the environmental norms, the plant was almost closed for a long period. The company management took up the challenge of revamping and renovating the huge complex having the world’s largest phosphoric acid plant.

Cooperative sector’s services neglected: Sudhakaran ALAPPUZHA: Cooperation Minister G. Sudhakaran has said that the cooperative sector was not getting the attention it deserves despite playing a major role in the State’s development. Speaking after launching the Alappuzha District Cooperative Bank’s core banking system and ATM as part of the bank’s modernisation project, Mr. Sudhakaran said that the policy makers would have to realise and acknowledge the contributions of the Cooperative sector to the State and do the needful. The government was yet to reimburse Rs.35 crore due to the Cooperative Department, which the department had incurred for running festival markets at subsidised rates, the Minister said. The department was extending interest-free loans to farmers and was also arranging low-interest loans for the purchase of combine harvester machines. However, these acts, which were not after any order but because of the department’s social commitment, were not being acknowledged through timely financial assistance. The Minister also said that around 100 banks in the State had not disbursed a single paisa as agricultural loans so far and that these banks would be blacklisted. District Cooperative Bank president C.B. Chandrababu presided over the function.

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has said that the Union government is trying to destabilise the cooperative sector. At the year-long golden jubilee celebrations of the Thiruvananthapuram District Cooperative Bank, he said the restrictions imposed on clearing cheques issued by cooperative banks would have an impact on the performance of the cooperative sector. He said the recommendations of the Vaidyanathan committee would be counterproductive for the robust cooperative sector in the State. The committee’s proposal for conditional release of funds for various development programmes would work to the disadvantage of the sector, he added. Mr. Achuthanandan said the cooperative sector in Kerala had diversified into several areas, such as medical care, education, banking and retail trade. “It has emerged as a symbol of self-reliance, helping the state to escape the clutches of the rapacious private sector. The market intervention by the Department of Cooperation and Supplyco helped to hold the price line in the State during the just-concluded Onam festival season,” he said. The Chief Minister stressed the need to strengthen and promote the cooperative sector as a bulwark against globalisation and the neo-liberal agenda of imperialist forces. “There is an urgent need to equip the sector for these challenges,” he said. S. Sundaresan, president of the bank, presided. A. Sampath MP, and V. Sivankutty MLA, were present.

National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.(NAFED) was established on the auspicious day of Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd October 1958. Nafed is registered under the Multi State Co-operative Societies Act. Nafed was setup with the object to promote Co-operative marketing of Agricultural Produce to benefit the farmers. Agricultural farmers are the main members of Nafed, who have the authority to say in the form of members of the General Body in the working of Nafed. The objects of the NAFED shall be to organise, promote and develop marketing, processing and storage of agricultural, horticultural and forest produce, distribution of agricultural machinery, implements and other inputs, undertake inter-State, import and export trade, wholesale or retail as the case may be and to act and assist for technical advice in agricultural production for the promotion and the working of its members and cooperative marketing, processing and supply societies in India. In furtherance of these objectives, the NAFED may undertake one or more of the following activities : -to facilitate, coordinate and promote the marketing and trading activities of the cooperative institutions in agricultural and other commodities, articles and goods; -to undertake or promote on its own or on behalf of its member Institutions or the Government or Government Organisations, Inter-State and international trade and commerce and undertake, wherever necessary, sale, purchase, import, export and distribution of agricultural commodities, horticultural and forest produce, other articles and goods from various sources for pursuing its business activities and to act as the agency for canalisation of export and import and interstate trade of agricultural and other commodities or articles under any scheme formulated by the Government of India or other Government agencies and to facilitate these activities, wherever necessary, to open branches/sub-offices and appoint agents at any place within the country or abroad; -to undertake purchase, sale and supply of agricultural products, marketing and processing requisites, such as manure, seeds, fertiliser, agricultural implements and machinery, packing machinery, construction requisites, processing machinery for agricultural commodities, forest produce, dairy, wool and other animal products; -to act as warehouseman under the Warehousing Act and own and construct its own godowns and cold storages; -to act as agent of any Government agency or cooperative institution, for the purchase, sale, storage and distribution of agricultural, horticultural, forest and animal husbandry produce, wool, agricultural requisites and other consumer goods; -to act as insurance agent and to undertake all such work which is incidental to the same; -to organise consultancy work in various fields for the benefit of the cooperative institutions in general and for its members in particular; -to undertake manufacture of agricultural machinery and implements, processing, packing, etc. and other production requisites and consumer articles by setting up manufacturing units either directly or in collaboration or as a joint venture with any other agency, including import and distribution of spare-parts and components to up-keep of the machinery/implements; -to set up storage units for storing various commodities and goods, by itself or in collaboration with any other agency in India or abroad; -to maintain transport units of its own or in collaboration with any other organisation in India or abroad for movement of goods on land, sea, air etc.; -to collaborate with any international agency or a foreign body for development of cooperative marketing, processing and other activities for mutual advantage in India or abroad; -to undertake marketing research and dissemination of market intelligence; -to subscribe to the share capital of other cooperative institutions as well as other public, joint and private sector enterprises if and when considered necessary for fulfilling the objectives of NAFED. -to arrange for the training of employees of marketing/processing/supply cooperative societies; -to maintain common cadres/pools of managerial/technical personnel required by the marketing/processing/supply cooperative societies; -to establish processing units for processing of agricultural, horticultural and forest produce and wool; -to undertake grading, packing and standardisation of agricultural produce and other articles; -to acquire, take on lease or hire, lands, buildings, fixtures and vehicles and to sell, give on lease or hire them for the business of NAFED. -to advance loans to its members and other cooperative institutions on the security of goods or otherwise; -to guarantee loans or advances or give undertakings to any Society or Company in which the Federation has a shareholding or financial involvement as a promoter to be able to assist its development or expansion or for starting any industrial undertaking by such societies/companies; -to guarantee loans or advances or give undertakings on behalf of any such society or company as mentioned above to any financing institutions: -to do all such things or undertake such other business or activities as may be incidental or conducive to the attainment of any or all of the above objects.

Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited, also known as IFFCO, is the world’s largest fertiliser cooperative federation based in India which is registered as a Multistate Cooperative Society. IFFCO has 40,000 member cooperatives.

History

During the 1960s the cooperative sector in India was responsible for the distribution of 70 per cent of the fertilisers consumed in the country. This sector had adequate infrastructure to distribute fertilisers but had no production facilities of its own and hence was dependent on public/private sectors for supplies. To overcome this difficulty and to bridge the demand supply gap in the country, a new cooperative society was conceived to specifically cater to the needs of farmers. It was a unique venture in which the farmers of the country through their own cooperative societies created this new institution to safeguard their interests.

The number of cooperative societies associated with IFFCO have risen from 57 in 1967 to more than 39,800 at present. Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) was registered on November 3, 1967 as a Multi-unit Co-operative Society. On the enactment of the Multistate Cooperative Societies act 1984 & 2002, the Society is deemed to be registered as a Multistate Cooperative Society. The Society is primarily engaged in the production and distribution of fertilisers. The bylaws of the Society provide a broad frame work for the activities of IFFCO as a cooperative society.

Plants owned by IFFCO

IFFCO Phulpur Unit -1 Entrance. Its one of the 5 Factories owned by IFFCO. Established in 1980 during the years 2004 and 2005, IFFCO has emerged as a cooperative in true spirit. IFFCO is now entirely owned by its cooperatives and has become a cooperative of the farmers, by the farmers and for the farmers. Initially, IFFCO commissioned an ammonia – urea complex at Kalol and the NPK/DAP plant at Kandla both in the state of Gujarat in 1975. Another ammonia – urea complex was set up at Phulpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh in 1981. The ammonia – urea unit at Aonla was commissioned in 1988. Recently, IFFCO has acquired an NPK/DAP and Phosphoric acid fertiliser unit at Paradeep in Orissa in September 2005. The marketing of IFFCO’s products is channeled through cooperative societies and institutional agencies in over 28 states and union territories of India.

Production and Sales

During the year 2008-09 IFFCO produced 71.68 lakh tonnes of fertiliser material; registering overall capacity utilisation of 98 percent for nitrogenous and 53 per cent for phosphatic fertiliser. It contributes 21.4% of country’s total nitrogenous fertiliser production and 27% of total phosphatic fertiliser production in the same period. Plant productivity during the year stood at 1373 tonnes/person.

The Society has also achieved another important landmark in the field of energy conservation by clocking overall annual energy of 5.943 Gcal/tonne of urea.

The Society has cloaked an all time high sales of 112.58 lakh tonne of fertilizers during 2008-09

Financial Performance

The society has recorded an all time high turnover of Rs. 32933 crore and harvested a pre tax profit of Rs. 441.95 crore during the year 2008-09. It has paid dividends for the year 2008-09 at the rate of 20 percent of the paid up equity to its shareholders for the eighth consecutive year.

Diversification and Joint Ventures

IFFCO has made strategic investments in several joint ventures. Indian Potash Limited in India, Industries Chimiques du Senegal (ICS) in Senegal and Oman India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO) in Oman are important fertiliser joint ventures. Indo Egyptian Fertiliser Company (IEFCO)in Egypt, Jordan India Fertiliser Company in Jordan are under implementation. As part of strategic diversification, IFFCO has entered into several key sectors. IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance Ltd (ITGI) is a foray into general insurance sector. Through ITGI, IFFCO has formulated new services of benefit to farmers. ‘Sankat Haran Bima Yojana’ provides free insurance cover to farmers along with each bag of IFFCO fertiliser purchased. To take the benefits of emerging concepts like agricultural commodity trading, IFFCO has purchased equity in National Commodity and Derivative Exchange (NCDEX) and National Collateral Management Services Limited (NCMSL). IFFCO Chattisgarh Power Limited (ICPL) which is under implementation is yet another foray to move into core area of power. IFFCO is developing a multi-product KISAN Special Economic Zone (IKSEZ) at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh – first of its kind with farmer’s cooperatives as stakeholders. IFFCO is also behind several other companies with the sole intention of benefiting farmers. The distribution of IFFCO’s fertiliser is undertaken through over 39,800 co-operative societies. The entire activities of Distribution, Sales and Promotion are co-ordinated by Marketing Central Office (MKCO) at New Delhi assisted by the Marketing offices in the field. In addition, essential agro-inputs for crop production are made available to the farmers through a chain of 158 Farmers Service Centre (FSC). IFFCO has promoted several institutions and organisations to work for the welfare of farmers, strengthening cooperative movement, improve Indian agriculture. Indian Farm Forestry Development Cooperative Ltd (IFFDC), Cooperative Rural Development Trust (CORDET), IFFCO Foundation, Kisan Sewa Trust belong to this category. An ambitious project ‘ICT Initiatives for Farmers and Cooperatives’ is launched to promote e-culture in rural India. IFFCO obsessively nurtures its relations with farmers and undertakes a large number of agricultural extension activities for their benefit every year.

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The Indian Sugar Industry is one of the oldest industries in the country. The rapid growth of sugar industry in Maharashtra has helped to a very great extent in stabilizing the sugar production in the country and reducing the chronic shortange of sugar. Maharashtra state produced about 1/3/rd of the total sugar produced in the country. Marathwade a backward region of Maharasthra state, has good potential for sugarcane cultivation and development of sugar industry. Sugar industry adds to the income of the farmers, creates employment opportunities and educational and other facilities and ultimately leads to economic development.