National Cooperative Society to have Rs 500 crore share capital

National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Amul and NAFED will be among the five promoters of the newly announced national-level cooperative society for organic food products, which will focus on enhancing farmers' income by improving production, certification and marketing system.

Last week, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a proposal to establish three new national-level multi-state cooperative societies to promote organic products, seeds and exports.

A national-level cooperative organic society, a cooperative seed society and a cooperative export society will be registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002.

According to sources, the National Cooperative Organic Society, to be based in Anand, Gujarat, will be set up with an authorised share capital of Rs 500 crore. It will have an initial paid-up share capital of Rs 100 crore, sources said.

NDDB, co-operative NAFED, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets milk products under the Amul brand, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) have come forward to become promoters of this new society and they will contribute Rs 20 crore each for initial paid-up share capital, sources said.

The NDDB will be the main promoter, they said, adding that these products would be marketed under the Amul brand. A new brand will also be unveiled for the marketing of the products globally.

Initially, the focus of this national-level society would be on improving the marketing system so that farmers get a better income for their organic produce. Gradually, the certification system and testing labs will also be strengthened.

"There are 8.54 lakh registered cooperatives in the country with more than 29 crore members. Cooperatives can be utilised for the development of organic clusters and its entire supply chain," a source said.

On the potential, sources said that India accounts for only 2.7 per cent of the world organic market and thus has a huge potential to expand.

The total size of the world organic food market (2020) was around Rs 10 lakh crore and out of that the size of the Indian organic market is around Rs 27,000 crore (Rs 20,000 crore domestic and Rs 7,000 crore exports). America has a market share of more than 40 per cent

Sources said that the size of the Indian organic market is set to grow at 20-25 per cent every year, while the global market is projected to grow by 15 per cent annually.

India has the largest number of organic producers at 16 lakh farmers, out of 34 lakh farmers globally.

There are 34 lakh organic producers in 190 countries with a land coverage of 749 lakh hectares.

In area terms, India ranks 4th with 27 lakh hectares of organic land. Australia is number one with 357 lakh hectares.

Cooperatives societies, including primary societies, district, state and national level federations, multi-state cooperative societies and Farmers' Producer Organisations (FPOs) can become members of this national-level society for organic products.

Growing health and environmental consciousness are the key drivers of demand for organic products, sources said.

India has a large potential to produce varieties of organic products due to its diverse agro-climatic conditions. In several parts of the country, the inherited tradition of organic farming is an added advantage, especially in North Eastern Region where Sikkim was declared as a fully organic state in 2016.