CHANDIGARH:The Centers for International Projects Trust established by the Columbia Water Center, Columbia University and the Cooperation Department today entered into a letter of Understanding (LoU). Both the parties will work in close collaboration for transforming Cooperatives in Punjab as hubs for Faster, Equitable and Sustainable Agriculture growth in future.
Disclosing this here today, Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said that the primary objective of this LoU is to enable the Parties to collaborate and develop synergies for sustainable water and energy use in Punjab agriculture by active involvement of Cooperative Societies and promoting innovations in agricultural research and extension, value addition/strengthening value chains which can also lead to substantial income enhancement of the member farmers.
The other thrust areas of the LoU include Farmer mobilization, Capacity building activities of farmers and staff of Cooperatives, Exploring new avenues of income generation for Cooperatives and options for income enhancement for the farmers, Resource conservation in agriculture such as water saving, crop residue management, Leverage credit support for farmers for agriculture input purchase, said the spokesperson.
Divulging more, the spokesperson said that the CIPT with the support of Cooperation Department will explore the avenues of external funding for implementing various programs and interventions involving the Cooperatives. The Parties will also explore high impact research funding opportunities at the national and international level and may also involve other partners for this purpose.
Pointing out further, the spokesperson said that the Cooperation Department will also provide support to CIPT in its field interventions and all other collaborative activities through its officials (DRS and ADRS) and active participation of Cooperatives and their staff.