Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah introduces 'Bharat Organics' brand of new NCOL

The newly created National Cooperative Organics Ltd (NCOL) launched the 'Bharat Organics' brand, which Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated. During the launch, Shah also unveiled NCOL's logo, website, and brochure. The minister handed over NCOL membership certificates to five cooperative societies. Speaking at the national symposium on promoting organic products through cooperatives, Shah declared that NCOL will become the most "trusted" brand in India and abroad. He further said, "NCOL is a platform for organic growers. We are launching six products under the 'Bharat Organics' brand, and we plan to introduce 20 more products by December."

Mother Dairy's Safal outlets and online platforms will sell six organic products: tur dal, chana dal, sugar, rajma, basmati rice, and Sonamasoori rice. Additionally, a network of retail outlets is being created across the country. At first, NCOL will only sell organic products in India, but later it will also market them in other countries. Shah, the spokesperson, stated that 50% of the profits from the sale of organic products through NCOL will go directly to member farmers.

The event was attended by B L Verma, Minister of State for Cooperation. Ganesh Kumar, Cooperation Secretary. Rohit Kumar Singh, Consumer Affairs Secretary, Sunil Barthwal, Commerce Secretary, Minesh C Shah, NDDB chairman and NCOL chief. And G Kamala Vardhana Roa, FSSAI CEO. NCOL, headquartered in Gujarat, was established under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act 2002, with the National Dairy Development Board being the primary promoter. The Minister stated that NCOL's goal is to cover the entire supply chain of organic products through cooperative networks by conducting various activities such as aggregation, certification, production, testing, procurement, storage, processing, branding, packaging, labeling, marketing, etc. This will ultimately benefit the farmer members.

Organic agriculture is practiced in 190 countries, covering a total of 749 lakh hectares of land. India is the fourth-largest country in the world in terms of organic agricultural land and the first in terms of the number of producers, according to data from 2020. The country has certified organic certification for 27 lakh hectares of land, which includes cultivable and wild harvest areas. As per official data, India produced 29 lakh tonnes of certified organic products in 2022-23. The country exported 3,12,000 tonnes of organic produce in 2022-23, valued at Rs 5,525 crore, mainly to the US, EU, Canada, and other countries.

Several states in India are taking the lead in certified organic farming, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and North Eastern. Recently, the government established three new cooperatives, one of which is NCOL, focused on organic farming. The other two cooperatives work on certified seeds and exports. Across the country, there are 7.89 crore cooperative societies with a total membership of 29 crore.