IFFCO conducted its Annual General Meeting in the NCUI auditorium in N Delhi on Tuesday with thousands of delegates gracing the occasion. Surrounded by almost all the 21 directors of the fertilizer cooperative board, Chairman N P Patel enumerated the achievements of the fertilizer giant and stressed the welfare of the farmers of the country.

Managing Director Shri U S Awasthi thanked the delegates who had come from various parts of the country and said that farmers’ interest is the focal point of IFFCO’s planning.

But more than the Chairman and MD it was the delegates paying glowing tributes to the leadership. They said that under the leadership of Dr Awasthi IFFCO is growing by leaps and bounds and has become synonymous with trust and dependability.

One of the delegates said that people buy Iffco fertilizer without hesitating for a moment as the brand name of Iffco evokes tremendous confidence.

Many delegates expressed huge thanks to Dr Awasthi for giving 20 per cent dividend year after year unfailingly. They offered him full support and wished the good work being done by him to continue.

Drawing from different states including Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra and south India the speeches of delegates were presenting the true colour of multi-lingual and multi-cultural India.

Readers may recall that IFFCO again notched up a profit of more than a thousand crore in the financial year 2011-12 despite a depressing local and global scenario. It has also increased its turn over from Rs 22000 crore to nearly Rs 26000 crore.

Delegates were given 24 carat imported gold weighing 5 gram.

The statue of former chairman of IFFCO Surender Jakhar was unveiled by  Shri N.P Patel at Surender Jakhar Bhawan in Gurgaon on Tuesday on the eve of his first death anniversary.

The occasion was graced by cooperators in large number. Shri Balram Jakhar,father of late Surender Jakhar and Smt Kanta Jakhar, wife of late leader,  his son and host of family members were also present. IFFCO’s Managing Director Dr. US Awasthi, Vice Chairman of IFFCO, Directors and others were present on the occasion.

Paying tributes to the great champion of farmers’ cause Late Surender Jakhar, IFFCO Chairman Shri Patel announced setting up of Surender Jakhar IFFCO Trust at his village Abhoher in Punjab with a corpus fund of Rs 5 crore and a monthly contribution of Rs 10 lakh per month for 3 years.

Surender Jakhar lived for farmers and the newly established Trust is an effort to fulfill his dream of helping farmers. The Trust would set up high-tech horticulture processing centre where farmers would be trained, Shri Patel added.

Speaking on the occasion Dr U S Awasthi said that today is the 365^th day without the great leader and I could not express the loss I feel at his demise. Fighting tears Dr Awasthi said that when I look at his statue it seems as if he is still there.

People of even his family may not be aware of late leader’s entire gamut of personality. We have worked together and we know what a fine person was he. His love for IFFCO and his relentless effort to improve the lot of farmers are hard to find, he added.

It was his inspiration that the entire board decided to keep the price of fertilizer unchanged despite 25 percent erosion in the value of rupee thereby suffering loss to the tune of Rs 300 crores. Viability and sensitivity are pillars of any institution, Jakhar used to say and IFFCO is following these principles despite many hurdles created by power inimical to us, MD added.

A tearful Balram Jakhar thanked IFFCO profusely for showing such love and concern for his son and its former Chairman. Surender was godlike and how I wish the world to be populated by a soul like his, he said. Human material assessment is my field as I have been in several positions in govt and outside but I am yet to meet a man who could be as good as Surender, Senior Jakhar said in quivering voice.

Dr G N Saxena, Director of Cooperative development at IFFCO said that in international cooperative year (declared by UN) we vow to carry forward on the path shown by great leader.