Amit Shah introduces the new cooperative body NCOL’s ‘Bharat Organics’ brand

Cooperation Minister Amit Shah unveiled the ‘Bharat Organics’ brand of the newly formed National Cooperative Organics Ltd (NCOL) on Wednesday, claiming that it will become the most trusted brand in India and worldwide.

In addition, Shah launched the NCOL’s logo, website, and brochure. Five cooperative societies received NCOL membership certificates from him.

“NCOL is a platform for organic growers”, Shah remarked at a national symposium on the promotion of organic products through cooperatives.

“Today, we are launching six products under the ‘Bharat Organics’ brand and 20 products by December”, he added.

The six organic products, tur dal, chana dal, sugar, rajma, basmati rice, and Sonamasoori rice would be marketed through Mother Dairy’s Safal shops and online platforms, he said, adding that a nationwide network of retail outlets is being established.

NCOL would initially sell organic products in India before expanding into other nations.

According to Shah, approximately 50 percent of profits from the sale of organic products through NCOL will be distributed directly to member farmers.

The occasion was attended by B L Verma, Minister of State for Cooperation, Cooperation Secretary Gnanesh Kumar, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal, NDDB chairman and NCOL chief Minesh C Shah, and FSSAI CEO G Kamala Vardhana Roa.

NCOL, headquartered in Gujarat and led by the National Dairy Development Board, was founded under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, of 2002.

The Minister said NCOL’s goal is to cover the entire supply chain of organic products through cooperative networks by engaging in activities such as aggregation, certification, production, testing, procurement, storage, processing, branding, packaging, labeling, marketing, and so on for the ultimate benefit of farmer members.

As per 2020 data, organic agriculture is practiced in 190 nations on 749 lakh hectares of land, with India ranking 4th in the world in organic agricultural acreage and first in the number of producers.

India has 27 lakh hectares of certified organic land, which includes cultivable and wild harvest areas. According to the official figures, the country generated 29 lakh tonnes of certified organic products in 2022-23.

Organic produce exports reached 3,12,000 tonnes in 2022-23, valued at Rs 5,525 crore, primarily to the United States, European Union, Canada, and other countries.

Some of the leading states in certified organic land are Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and North Eastern region.

NCOL is one of the three new cooperatives established by the government recently. The other two cooperatives specialize in certified seeds and exports.

The country has 7.89 crore cooperative societies with a total membership of 29 crore.

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