New Delhi [India], May 12 : IFFCO, world's largest fertiliser cooperative federation with over 40,000 member cooperatives, has announced its plans to garner massive cooperative market via creation of a digital platform.
"Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited has made an ambitious plan to achieve Fertilisers' Marketing target of 15 million tonnes per annum by 2020," said IFFCO Managing Director and CEO Dr U.S.
Awasthi. "We are creating one massive cooperative market through a digital platform-iffcobazar.in. Members will get instant information in the field of agriculture etc in 12 languages," Dr Awasthi said while adding that it is the first of its kind e-commerce initiative for agriculture sector in rural areas.
"I am surprised to see how India has changed. The burning desire in young boys and girls, they want jobs, they want to show that they can do something good.
You can feel the vibrations in them. This has been made possible by Narendra Modi's initiative of Digital India and mobile penetration for 97 percent Indians", Dr.
Awasthi claimed, who is travelling across the country to better understand the pulse of the farmers in the 50th year of the IFFCO.
Coincidently, this year is also Dr. U.S. Awasthi's 50th year of service to India's farming sector in various capacities. "I have decided to visit 125 locations all over India, right from Andaman to Leh and from Arunachal to Kutch.
I have already visited 70 locations. Everywhere in our country there are different pockets with expertise in different agriculture practices.
The idea is to cover entire geography of India, meet all kind of farmers, and understand each ecological strata and places of agriculture needs.
I am also connecting all of them to one massive cooperative market through a digital platform. Today, we can join and empower them by technology", Dr Awasthi said, who has been instrumental in making IFFCO a global leader in fertiliser production.
IFFCO has made rapid strides on all fronts and has diversified into several sectors like General Insurance, Rural Telephony, Rural Retail, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under his leadership.
On the question of what difference he found while travelling in the rural areas, Dr. Awasthi said, "There is a perceptible change, and this is not only for 3 years; this is from 10 - 15 years from now.
Several schemes and initiatives launched by the present government have made perceptible change in rural India.
With Digital India, I can do everything from my phone, even while travelling. So, I have seen big change. For example, woman of south who can't understand my language, hold my hand wanting to understand the Mobile technology," he said.
Dr. Awasthi, who is seen as the guardian of about 4 crore farmers also said, "I think everyone has contributed, but Narendra Modi has strived to bring major change through digital India.
He has brought certain dynamism. We couldn't have reached here without the government's support and contribution." He further said that IFFCO YUVA has been launched to give Skill Development Training to the rural youths following the Skill India initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We ask them to take an online test. After the test, it tells you what skills match your aptitude. They have designed theoretical program, followed by practical training, all online", Dr. Awasthi said. "In the Golden Jubilee year, the IFFCO plans to achieve specific targets for energy saving through modernisation of existing plants, manufacture of new fertiliser products, setting up agro-processing units and agro-chemicals projects, diversification in e-Commerce and promoting venture capital projects, setting up fertiliser projects overseas through strategic alliances and also to set up a credit rating agency for cooperative Societies", Dr.
Awasthi said while talking to ANI. He further said, "IFFCO will concentrate more on organic fertilisers. Inorganic fertilizers have reached a plateau; there is no further need of chemical fertilizers. Now the time has come, that world will switch over to different kinds of crop pattern, different kinds of nutrition management, which I believe is Organic.
Hence we will now concentrate more on organic fertilizers which is the future.".
Source: ANI
