Governor asks coop sector to modernise

Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj urged the cooperative sector to adopt information technology.

Speaking at the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) lecture here on Monday, he called upon cooperative institutions to change the way they function, to fit the requirements imposed by modern days needs.

“We have a huge population to feed and it can't be dealt with without developing resources and cooperatives. Cooperative and agricultural development are badly needed to alleviate hunger and poverty,” he said.

Bhardwaj praised IFFCO for not only producing quality fertilisers, but also helping to improve the condition of the poor and marginal farmers in India. Agriculture is one of the two sectors which saved India from recession, he said. “We have huge foodgrain stocks which are feeding millions.”

The governor also proved unstinting in his praise for Nehru.

"He could not live forever, but left behind a powerful legacy. It was Nehru who wanted to make the cooperation movement the basic activity in every village in India and the cooperation approach a common idea in India," he added.

Speaking at the event, U S Awasthi, Managing Director of IFFCO said, "IFFCO is keeping the flame of cooperative movements alive in India and we have to strengthen this. When we compare our present economic condition to the times of Independence, we see a great change.” Binny Yagna from Arunachal Pradesh and Sita Ram from Himachal Pradesh, were awarded the Sahakarita Ratna and the Sahakarita Bandhu Award, respectively, during the event.