Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday launched ‘Sambandh’, a statewide membership drive aimed at enrolling farmers into Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) and Large-sized Adivasi Multipurpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPCS), saying such institutions should remain above political considerations.Launching the campaign here, Majhi urged farmers to join the cooperative societies in large numbers and described the initiative as an effort to strengthen the bond of trust between the govt and farming families. “Cooperative institutions are not any political platform; they are the lifeline of our farmers,” the chief minister said.Majhi added Odisha has become the first state in the country to formulate its own Cooperative Policy 2026, inspired by the Centre’s vision of “Sahakar Se Samruddhi”. The state is transforming PACS and LAMPCS from conventional credit institutions into multi-service rural centres offering a range of services under one roof, he said.According to the chief minister, farmers associated with cooperative societies can now access paddy procurement at the state-announced MSP of Rs 3,100 per quintal, besides facilities such as fertiliser and seed distribution, access to farm machinery, banking services, crop insurance and milk collection through the same platform.The chief minister also unveiled a new scheme, “Promotion of Sugarcane Production in Cooperative Sugar Industry Areas”, to revive cooperative sugar mills and enhance the incomes of the growers. Under the scheme, farmers in the command areas of the Badamba and Asika cooperative sugar mills will receive an input subsidy of Rs 15,000 per acre.The event also witnessed the inauguration of major cooperative infrastructure across the state. Majhi inaugurated 185 transformed mandis, 50 custom hiring centres, 250 Janaseva Kendras, 60 consumer stores, office and godown buildings of 70 PACS and milk collection centres in 21.Another key announcement was the rollout of dividend distribution to farmer-members of PACS and LAMPS for the 2024-25 financial year. Majhi distributed dividends to members of 322 societies on the day and said nearly eight lakh farmers linked to more than 500 societies would benefit from the exercise.
