Minister for Cooperation A.C. Moideen has asked the cooperative sector to play a proactive role for sustainable development of the State.
He was inaugurating a seminar organised here on Saturday in connection with International Co-operative Day.
The Minister called for easing the norms for giving loans to small-time farmers. Measures should be taken to free the farmers from the stranglehold of middlemen and corporate entities. Officials in the Co-operation Department should work in tandem with their counterparts in other departments to help those interested in organic farming. Technical help must be given to maintain the farming machinery too. All this would make farming profitable and prevent farmers from converting farmland into real estate.
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Mr. Moideen said the cooperative sector could generate lakhs of jobs while providing essential goods, education, and healthcare to the people at affordable cost. He also asked the cooperatives to support Gulf returnees. Special Secretary (Cooperation) P. Venugopal lamented that Kerala’s farm output was very low despite huge amounts being given as loans and subsidies.
Measures sought to free farmers from the stranglehold of middlemen and corporate entities