Shah Lauds Role Of IFFCO in India's Self-Reliance In Foodgrain Production

Gandhinagar: The IFFCO has played an important role in making India self-reliant in foodgrain production and taken steps for the shift from chemical to nano and bio fertilisers, Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday. Whether it is about helping farmers, conducting research and development, marketing, branding and reaching out to every household, "IFFCO has shown such efficiency which any corporate company would be put to shame," he said.

Shah was addressing a gathering at the golden jubilee celebration of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited's (IFFCO) Kalol unit in Gandhinagar. He also laid the foundation stone for IFFCO's seed research centre.

While 50 years of IFFCO have been dedicated to agriculture, grain production, rural economy and the prosperity of farmers, during the next 50 years, it will work to make agriculture modern and productive, conserve agricultural land and save the country's environment while keeping the existing objectives intact, Shah said. "If today India is self-reliant in foodgrains, then there is no question in my mind that IFFCO has played a very important role in it," he said.

"When IFFCO was formed, our focus was on bulk fertiliser application. Today our focus is on targeted and controlled release, to help ensure that soil gets nutrients without damage," he said. Shah said IFFCO has achieved a production capacity of 90 lakh MT, a turnover of Rs 40,000 crore and profit of Rs 3,200 crore.

When IFFCO was started 50 years ago, it worked at a high cost and low efficiency, and today it has worked to achieve low cost and high efficiency, the minister said.

"Earlier, we were on the backfoot due to our agricultural policies but today we have reached the forefront in terms of environment," he said. In a way, IFFCO is owned by thousands of farmers' groups across the country, but works like a corporation, Shah said. IFFCO connected farmers with fertilisers, and worked to connect fertilisers with cooperatives, he said.

"I am sure that when the centenary year of IFFCO will be celebrated, its name will be heard among cooperatives of the whole world just like today," he said.

"With the passing of time and after researching nano urea, nano DAP, liquid urea and liquid DAP, when it came to production, IFFCO remained number one in India," he said. Shah said due to the farsightedness and continuous follow-up by IFFCO Managing Director US Awasthi, today IFFCO nano urea and nano DAP have worked to spread the Indian cooperative sector's fame across the globe.

"IFFCO also increased its capacity and reach, and by conducting R&D, experiments in the laboratory were taken to the land," he said.