Assistance is provided under Central Sector Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Cooperation (CSISAC) scheme through National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) for promoting, developing, and financing cooperatives undertaking various agriculture and allied activities. These comprise, inter alia, marketing, storage, and processing of agricultural products besides the supply of agricultural inputs. Subsidy to the tune of 15% to 25% is provided to Cooperatives depending on the category of state in addition to the term loan. The government also provides a Guarantee for procurement operations of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED).
Under the CSISAC scheme assistance is provided for providing training to farmers who are members and employees of various types of cooperative societies through the National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) and the National Council for Cooperative Training (NCCT).
In order to ensure remunerative prices to farmers for their produce, the government is implementing “Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan” (PM- AASHA). Under this scheme, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) implements the Price Support Scheme (PSS) for the procurement of pulses, oilseeds, and copra. For oilseeds, DA&FW also implements the Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS).
Under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), financial assistance is provided to Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS), a federation of cooperatives, FPOs, Marketing Cooperative Societies, amongst others, for post-harvest management infrastructure and building community farming assets.
The government is emphasizing increasing the contribution of Cooperative societies, especially PACS, in setting up Agriculture Infrastructure in the country through the AIF scheme.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Cooperation, Shri B.L.Verma in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
