Minister for Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives Padma Kumari Aryal has urged the cooperative institutions to get connected with agriculture sector. Cooperatives can be the major alternative to bridge gap between import and export of rice, she said at a programme organized here today on the occasion of International Cooperatives Day.
Agriculture sector has not been on priority of the financial cooperatives through there are around 35,000 cooperatives active across the country, she added. The state has provisioned grant and subsidized loan to farmers in its bid to make agriculture sector commercial, the import of agro outputs has not yet come to a declining trend. Nepal’s cooperatives possess a total capital of Rs 700 billion and also offer direct employment to 65,000 people.
The International Cooperatives Day is marked on 6 July every year. This year’s slogan of the day is ‘Cooperatives for Decent Jobs’. The 25th United Nations Day and 26th National Cooperative Day also fall on July 6. On the occasion, Lalitpur Multi-purpose Association was conferred the Best Cooperative Award-2075 BS.
National Planning Commission member Dr Dil Bahadur Gurung said the cooperative organizations should not be limited to provide credit services but also discharge their production and social responsibility. Resident Representative of United Nations Development Programme for Nepal, Ayshanie Medagangoda Labe said Nepali cooperative organizations have yet to engage their focused efforts on linking agro sector. RSS
