**Bhubaneswar:** Making annual review of the Cooperation Department at the Secretariat here on Wednesday, it has been decided that core banking facility will be provided to Odisha farmers through all the primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACS) across the State.
Briefing media after the annual review, Odisha Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said, “Today I reviewed Cooperation Department’s last year’s activities and action plan for this year. An important matter is that of PACS computerisation. There are about 2,700 primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACS) and their full computerisation process is underway. Core banking service will be offered there. We are trying that Panchayats having no banking facilities, we’ll be providing banking services there through banking correspondent. Thus, we hope to provide banking facility to about 400-500 Panchayats uncovered by bank. Where there is no internet facility, we’ll provide it with VSAT provision.”
“There are several challenges. Main is to provide agricultural credit to farmers on time. We have to make sure that adequate other inputs are also available to farmers on time. Basically, all kinds of services should be available to farmers on time,” he quipped.
Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, Co-operative Department informed, “The short term credit loan provided to the farmers in our State has got a credit structure in which PACS plays a pivotal role. Efforts are on to fully computerised all the PACS in our State. Such an exercise has not been attempted by any other State in our country. Ours will be the first ever State. Hence, the farmers will be provided with RuPay, Paytm cards. Their Aadhar cards will be linked. We’ve a target of Rs 11,000 crore credit to be provided to the farmers so that they avail it on time.”
“Another important matter is agriculture marketing. We’ll be amending our old Act so that it becomes modern and progressive and facilitate marketing,” he added.
Ahuja further informed, “At present, paddy procurement is being done by PACS on offline facility. But for providing banking and ATM facility, online of PACS is a must. Around 750-800 PACS lack net connectivity. There we’ll provide the facility by means of VSAT.”