Sahakar Pragya Initiative

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare launched the Sahakar Pragya Initiative on November 24th, 2020. The Sahakar Pragya scheme is an initiative in India that aims to develop the country’s cooperative sector by imparting information and skills to rural communities. The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) is organizing the initiative, which is supported by the NCDC’s Haryana-based Laxmanrao Inamdar National Cooperative Research and Development Academy. 

Sahakar Pragya Initiative: 

• To help in the development of capacity in India’s cooperative sector.
• Farmers will benefit from the new training modules in terms of knowledge, skills, and organizational capacity.
• To assist farmers as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat, in which primary cooperative societies play a significant role.
• To help farmers in becoming more self-reliant during the economic reconstruction after COVID.
• To educate cooperative societies to meet the professional business needs of the modern market economy.

Objectives of the Sahakar Pragya Initiative:

1. Sahakar Pragya of NCDC will train cooperative societies in rural India with 45 new training modules.

The 45 training modules will be supported by the following:

• NCDC Schemes
• There are 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations.
• Agri-Infrastructure Funding Scheme
• PM-FME Program
• Scheme for Dairy Infrastructure Development
• Scheme for Fisheries Infrastructure Development
• Ministry of Rural Development Scheme
• PM Matsya Sampada scheme

2. Farmers will be educated about risk management in agricultural activities through primary cooperatives.
3. It will also boost the cooperative sector, which would act as a shield between farmers and unscrupulous traders.
4. The NCDC’s training capacity will be enhanced through the establishment of a network of 18 Regional Training Centres across the country. 

5. This initiative supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, which aims to educate and impart poor farmers, empowering them to become self-aware and self-sufficient. 

Significance of the Sahakar Pragya Initiative:

• The Sahakar Pragya scheme is an important step, given the essential role that cooperatives play in India’s economic and social structure.
• India has a huge network of cooperative societies, which form an integral aspect of India’s social organizations. 
• There are over 8.5 lakh cooperative organizations in India, with over 290 million members. Farmers have benefited from the cooperative sector in a variety of ways. This is also true because more than 94% of Indian farmers belong to one or more harmonic societies.
• Farmers are protected by cooperative societies from exploitation by traders, buyers, moneylenders, and middlemen. 
• The scheme would assist cooperatives in helping farmers in reducing risks in agriculture and related industries. 
• It would also be an opportunity to reach out to farmers through these cooperative groups, as a huge number of farmers are part of cooperatives.
• The Sahakar Pragya Initiative will help in bridging the gap between market demands and rural communities.

Key Facts of the Sahakar Pragya Initiative:

• Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar launched it.
• The program’s forty-five training modules will train farmers in primary cooperative organizations.
• The initiative will be implemented through 18 regional training centers.
• The 18 Regional Training Centres will enhance training capacity.
• The Laxmanrao Inamdar National Cooperative Research and Development Academy has implemented a strategy to train around 5000 farmers in cooperative organizations. 

National Cooperative Development Corporation:

• NCDC was founded as a statutory Corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare by an Act of Parliament in 1963.
• NCDC functions through its Head Office in New Delhi and several Regional Offices.

Functions of the National Cooperative Development Corporation:

• The objectives of NCDC are to organize and promote cooperative programs for agricultural produce, foodstuffs, industrial goods, livestock, and certain other notified commodities and services.
• The NCDC is the only statutory organization that serves as an apex financial and developmental institution exclusively devoted to the cooperative sector.

National Cooperative Development Corporation’s Other Sahakar Schemes: 

In addition to Sahakar Pragya, the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has launched a number of other initiatives and projects. 

Sahakar-22:

• Cooperatives are utilized to create new job opportunities for farmers.
  Another objective of this initiative is to foster cooperative development in the 222 target regions as well as other aspirational districts. 

Sahakar Mitra:

• It is a Summer Internship Program (SIP) that recruits young professionals and students as interns to get work experience and to generate creative cooperative solutions.

Yuva Sahakar:

• Its aim is to hire aspiring youngsters and their youth-friendly schemes to the cooperative sector. 

Frequently Asked Questions on Sahakar Pragya Scheme:

Q1. When was the Sahakar Pragya Scheme launched? 

Answer: The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare launched the Sahakar Pragya Initiative on November 24th, 2020. The Sahakar Pragya scheme is an initiative in India that aims to develop the country’s cooperative sector by imparting information and skills to rural communities. The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) is organizing the initiative, which is supported by the NCDC’s Haryana-based Laxmanrao Inamdar National Cooperative Research and Development Academy. 

Q2. How many training modules are available under the Sahakar Pragya scheme?

Answer: Sahakar Pragya of NCDC will train cooperative societies in rural India with 45 new training modules. 

The 45 training modules will be supported by the following:

• NCDC Schemes
• There are 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations.
• Agri-Infrastructure Funding Scheme
• PM-FME Program
• Scheme for Dairy Infrastructure Development
• Scheme for Fisheries Infrastructure Development
• Ministry of Rural Development Scheme
• PM Matsya Sampada scheme

Q3. What are the objectives of the Sahakar Pragya scheme? 

Answer: 

• Sahakar Pragya of NCDC will train cooperative societies in rural India with 45 new training modules. 
• Farmers will be educated about risk management in agricultural activities through primary cooperatives.
• It will also boost the cooperative sector, which would act as a shield between farmers and unscrupulous traders.
• The NCDC’s training capacity will be enhanced through the establishment of a network of 18 Regional Training Centres across the country.
• This initiative supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, which aims to educate and impart poor farmers, empowering them to become self-aware and self-sufficient. 

Q4. What is the aim of Sahakar Pragya Yojana? 

Answer: The aim of the Sahakar Pragya scheme is 

• To help in the development of capacity in India’s cooperative sector.
• Farmers will benefit from the new training modules regarding knowledge, skills, and organizational capacity.
• To assist farmers as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat, in which primary cooperative societies play a significant role.
• To help farmers in becoming more self-reliant during the economic reconstruction after COVID.
• To educate cooperative societies to meet the professional business needs of the modern market economy.

Q5. What is National Cooperative Development Corporation?

Answer: NCDC was founded as a statutory Corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare by an Act of Parliament in 1963. NCDC functions through its Head Office in New Delhi and several Regional Offices. The objectives of NCDC are to organize and promote cooperative programs for agricultural produce, foodstuffs, industrial goods, livestock, and certain other notified commodities and services. The NCDC is the only statutory organization that serves as an apex financial and developmental institution exclusively devoted to the cooperative sector.