Minister for Agriculture, Thummala Nageswar Rao said the state currently had 60,759 cooperative societies of various types, 908 PACS, 24,539 Consumer and Savings Societies and several Fishery Cooperative Societies.

Hyderabad: Assuring the farmers in the State of all out efforts by the government for strengthening the primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACs), the Minister for Agriculture, Thummala Nageswar Rao said on Thursday that the cooperative societies have made a significant contribution to the cooperative movement.

They have made an equal contribution to the development of the rural economy and expressed the hope that they would play a decisive role in the development farm sector in future as well. He said the state currently had 60,759 cooperative societies of various types, 908 PACS, 24,539 Consumer and Savings Societies and several Fishery Cooperative Societies.

Majority of the farmers in the villages have been associated fully with the activity of the cooperative societies in some form or the other. The contribution of cooperatives to the economy was huge, he said adding that the cooperative sector accounts for 20% of the total agricultural credit of the state. Over 60 per cent of the fertilizer distribution was done by the cooperative sector.

He gave away cash awards of Rs 25000 each to primary agriculture cooperative societies of Srirampur, Mahadevpur, Appannapet, Raikal and the Jeedimetla fiseries cooperative societies for their outstanding performance at a function organised by the National Cooperative Development Corporation.