Kathmandu- Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation, Balram Adhikari, stated that more work needs to be carried out to advance agricultural cooperatives systematically. At the 17th Annual General Assembly of the Nepal Agriculture Cooperative Central Federation, he emphasized the need to improve the objectives and operations of agricultural cooperatives.
Minister Adhikari said, “It should be noted whether or not the cooperatives are operating according to their objectives. Cooperatives are not all the same; some operate with different objectives. It is essential to think about how to make cooperatives more systematic and effective.”
He appealed not to view cooperatives merely as banking transactions and called for more solidarity and clarity regarding the aims and objectives of cooperatives. He added, “We need to guide cooperatives in the right direction to serve the nation’s purpose.”
Minister Adhikari urged against spreading confusion due to various perspectives on the functioning of cooperatives. “Cooperatives are genuine and have been working for the betterment of the country. Therefore, we need to work together,” he emphasized.
He pointed out that improving the situation of cooperatives requires working based on self-regulation. Speaking about future support from the government, he said, “We all need to collaborate to solve the challenges facing cooperatives.”
Minister Adhikari also informed that amendments had been made to the Cooperative Act to improve the sector. He assured that necessary steps would be taken in the upcoming days for the overall improvement of the sector as there were some disagreements on some issue.