Md. Abdul Wadud Dara, Minister of State for Rural Development and Cooperative Department, has commented that there is no alternative to the cooperative agriculture revolution in improving the fortunes of the people of the country. The State Minister made this comment while addressing the Chief Guest at the 37th Annual General Meeting (Fiscal Year 2022-2023) of The Cooperative Credit Union League of Bangladesh Limited (CCULB) organized at the conference room of the Directorate of Cooperatives, Agargaon, Dhaka on 28 June 2024 Friday morning.
Chairman of CCULB, Augustine Purification, chaired the meeting and spoke as ‘Guest of Honour’, Member of Parliament of Gazipur-5 Constituency Bir Muktijoddha Akhtaruzzaman. Apart from this, the Registrar and Director General of the Directorate of Cooperatives Md. Shariful Islam, Additional Registrar Md. Ahsan Kabir, Dhaka Division Joint Registrar Sheikh Kamal Ahmed gave speeches as special guests and other leaders of different levels of CCULB gave speeches.
The state minister said, I am determined to spread the cooperative agriculture system of the father of the nation Bangabandhu’s dream as per the instructions of the world leader, the mother of humanity and the honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Because the prerequisite for the development of the country is the development of 70% rural towns and the development of agriculture. And for that, the cooperative has to move on the basis. The government has also taken up various schemes for the modernization of cooperative agriculture. Cooperating with cooperatives. The beneficiaries of which are the vast population of the rural areas. A cooperative economic system should be developed to be self-reliant in individual and family life.
Abdul Wadud said that cooperatives will be established in every village. 41000 wards will be co-operative. Every police station will have a cooperative. My ministry is not sitting to institutionalize cooperatives. I will plow north-south, east-west of the country. I will talk to the cooperatives. I will help in making new products in every village by taking their opinion and consulting with experts. He said, our main idea is how to take the cooperative forward by including Vijayalakshi women. It is possible to change the face of the country’s economy only by empowering women in rural areas. This is the key statement of women’s empowerment according to the government’s election manifesto.
The state minister added that rural development and cooperatives contribute about 2% to the country’s GDP. Co-operative unions have to work on how to increase it. People of all castes and religions must work together tirelessly to build a happy-prosperous smart Bangladesh for the next generation. For this it is necessary to strengthen the cooperative societies. He also said that more investment should be made in technology so that its benefits can be reaped in agriculture as well. Credit unions need to play a bigger role