NCEL (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation recently addressed the 'National Symposium on Cooperative Exports' organised by the National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) in New Delhi.

• India's first multi-state cooperative society for exports, the National Cooperative Export Limited (NCEL), will promote the country's organic products and share half its returns with farmers.

National Cooperative Export Limited (NCEL)

• Established as an overarching body for cooperative sector exports, the NCEL has achieved remarkable success by securing orders worth Rs 7,000 crore.
• Emphasising the importance of the cooperative sector in boosting exports, the Union Minister of Cooperation highlighted that around 50% of export earnings would directly benefit farmers through NCEL.
• Objectives of NCEL: NCEL was established with several objectives, including boosting exports, especially in the agricultural sector, fostering prosperity among farmers, promoting changes in crop patterns, and enabling 2 crore farmers to practice natural farming by 2027.

oOne of NCEL's objectives is to strengthen the cooperative sector, which plays a crucial role in India's economy, contributing to 15% of GDP and employing 60% of the population.

• Natural Farming: Natural Farming is a chemical-free farming system rooted in Indian tradition enriched with modern understanding of ecology, resource recycling and on-farm resource optimization.

oIt is largely based on on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass-mulching, use of on-farm cow dung-urine formulations; maintaining soil aeration and exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs.

oNatural farming is expected to reduce dependency on purchased inputs. It is considered as a cost- effective farming practice with scope for increasing employment and rural development.

• Natural Farming Initiatives: Prime Minister of India initiated several projects to promote natural farming in India, such as a multistate cooperative society for selling organic products globally, aiming to provide higher prices to farmers and enhance their prosperity.