Primary Agricultural Credit Societies : Govt New Decision
The Government has taken five new decisions to increase the income of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), as well as increase the employment opportunities in rural areas.
- Government aims to achieve overall prosperity in the country through the mantra of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi”.
- It was proposed to strengthen Cooperatives by bringing transparency, modernization, and creating competitiveness.
- PACS which are not functioning as fertilizer retailers will be identified and they will be encouraged to function as retailers on the basis of feasibility in a phased manner.
- PACS which are not currently functioning as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samridhi Kendras (PMKSK) will be brought under the ambit of PMKSK.
- The Prime Minister inaugurated 600 PMKSK in 2022 under the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers.
- PMKSK will cater to a wide variety of needs of the farmers and provide agri-inputs, testing facilities for soil, seeds, and fertilisers.
- PACS will be connected with the marketing of organic Fertilizers, especially Fermented Organic Manure (FoM) / Liquid Fermented Organic Manure (LFOM) / Phosphate Enriched Organic Manure (PROM).
- Under the Market Development Assistance (MDA) scheme of Department of Fertilizers, fertilizer companies will act as an aggregator for small bio-organic producers to market the end product, in this supply and marketing chain of bio-organic fertilizers PACS will also be included as wholesalers/retailers.
- PACS can also be employed as Drone entrepreneurs for spraying fertilizers and pesticides. Drones can also be used for survey of property.
Primary Agricultural Credit Societies:
- PACS are village level cooperative credit societies that serve as the last link in a three-tier cooperative credit structure headed by the State Cooperative Banks (SCB) at the state level.
- Credit from the SCBs is transferred to the District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs), which operate at the district level.
- The DCCBs work with PACS, which deal directly with farmers.
- PACSs provide short-term, and medium-term agricultural loans to the farmers for the various agricultural and farming activities.
- The first PACS was formed in 1904.
