SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir received Rs 6.15 crore in financial assistance from the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) during the five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26 for promoting cooperative activities in the hilly region, while Ladakh received Rs 0.88 crore, according to the Union Ministry of Cooperation.
The figures were provided by Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah in a written reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1573 on promoting agriculture cooperatives in hilly areas.
The Ministry said it is establishing new NCDC offices in hilly and remote areas, including Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, to improve service delivery and market support. It also said the Bhartiya Beej Sahkari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Jammu and Kashmir for expanding the availability and marketing of quality, certified and affordable seeds under the Bharat Beej brand.
The Union Government said 176 cooperative societies from Jammu and Kashmir have obtained membership of BBSSL, while 30 are members of the National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) and 10 have joined the National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL).
In Ladakh, 12 cooperative societies are members of BBSSL, six of NCEL and four of NCOL, according to the Ministry.
The Ministry said BBSSL was established as a multi-state cooperative society to provide farmers with quality, certified and affordable seeds. However, the reply specifically reported the supply of 2,488 quintals of such seeds to farmers in Uttarakhand and did not provide a corresponding quantity for Jammu and Kashmir or Ladakh.
For market access, the Government said NCEL has been established as an umbrella organisation to export goods and services produced by cooperative societies. While Jammu and Kashmir is not listed among the states and Union Territories with which NCEL has signed MoUs, NCOL has signed an MoU with Jammu and Kashmir to facilitate market access for organic produce from the region.
NCOL is responsible for procurement, aggregation, certification, testing, branding and marketing of organic produce. The Ministry said its members benefit from quality testing and certification support, access to national and international markets, improved price realisation and dividends on their shareholding.
The Rs 6.15 crore assistance to Jammu and Kashmir was below the average of about Rs 35.25 crore among the 12 hilly states and Union Territories listed in the NCDC data. Jammu and Kashmir ranked eighth in NCDC disbursements, while Ladakh ranked 12th and last among the listed regions.
The combined Rs 7.03 crore disbursed to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh accounted for about 1.7 per cent of the total Rs 422.95 crore released by NCDC to the 12 hilly states and Union Territories during the five-year period.
Uttarakhand received the largest assistance at Rs 287.95 crore, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total, followed by Himachal Pradesh with Rs 40.15 crore and Manipur with Rs 38.37 crore. Assam received Rs 28.19 crore and Tripura Rs 20.56 crore.
The Ministry’s figures also show that Jammu and Kashmir had 216 cooperative societies across the three national cooperative organisations—BBSSL, NCEL and NCOL—compared with 22 in Ladakh. Uttarakhand had the highest combined membership at 1,425 societies, followed by Himachal Pradesh with 753 and Tripura with 384.
Across the 12 hilly states and Union Territories, 2,740 cooperative societies had obtained membership in BBSSL, NCEL and NCOL, with Jammu and Kashmir accounting for nearly 8 per cent of the total and Ladakh for less than 1 per cent.
The Union Government said the three national-level cooperative organisations are intended to help member societies access certified seeds, quality testing and certification, domestic and international markets and better prices for their produce.
