Press Release
Press Release from Sikkim Farmers Welfare Board
Information & Public Relations Department
High-Level Meet Charts Roadmap for the Centre of Excellence on Co-operative Agriculture.
New Delhi, March 27, 2026: A high-level strategic meeting to deliberate on the establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Co-operative Agriculture was convened by Indian Diversified & Sustainable Agriculture Cooperative Ltd. (INDCOOP) at Aerocity, New Delhi, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, and subject matter experts to chart a transformative roadmap for India’s agricultural sector.
CoE is envisioned as a national-level platform for promoting climate-resilient, sustainable, and market-driven agriculture, with a strong emphasis on cooperative-led development. It will cater to key regions including Eastern Uttar Pradesh, North Bengal, Sikkim, and the North Eastern states—areas known for their agro-climatic diversity and untapped agricultural potential.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah this CoE will be headquartered in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. It was spoken by Dhananjay Kumar Singh, a veteran Cooperative Thinker & Leader and Member of the Board of Management at National Devt. Cooperative Corporation & Chairman INDCOOP. He also mentioned that the proposed Centre of Excellence will function as a multi-dimensional institution, integrating three core components—a technology and knowledge hub, a market integration platform, and a sustainability and carbon management centre. Key focus areas include soil and water conservation, reduction in chemical usage, productivity enhancement, crop diversification, promotion of medicinal and aromatic plants, and development of carbon credit-based income streams.
Joachem Rover, a consultant on Agriculture from Belgium, expressed his views and emphasised the importance of Farm Mechanisation and technology intervention in agriculture and how it enables increasing the quality and production of the produce. Yogendra Kumar, Director Marketing IFFCO & Chairman Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samity Ltd., highlighted the selected location of the CoE as a key factor that covers major agro-climatic zones and agricultural produce areas in Eastern India. Dr. Sudhakar Pandey, ADG-ICAR, contributed with his experience and mentioned the need for alternate and high-value crops in Medicinal & Aromatic crops, Spices etc., as the need of the hour. He also mentioned the potential of growing Medicinal Orchids in the NER region. Dr. R. S. Kureel, former Vice Chancellor, stressed the necessity of Input support services for the Farmer clusters / FPOs / B-PACS and their Marker linkages as essential. Mr. Ranjan D Sen, a Social Entrepreneur and Secretary of JVES, provided his inputs on the potential of including Medicinal & Aromatic plants with the need for Organic farming & certification system and Carbon sequestration model for creating a traceable model with positive impact on the livelihood of the farmers & transparency for other key stakeholders.
The meeting was also attended by Capt. Govind Kumar Gautam from Dubai, who highlighted the importance of financial institutions and linking produce to the international market. Mr.Alok Pandey, Lalit Beri, Padam Sharma, Chairman of the Sikkim Farmers Welfare Board and other key stakeholders. The meeting was concluded with thanks from Dhanajay Singh ji to all the dignitaries for contributing their valuable thoughts on the CoE.
New Delhi, March 27, 2026: A high-level strategic meeting to deliberate on the establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Co-operative Agriculture was convened by Indian Diversified & Sustainable Agriculture Cooperative Ltd. (INDCOOP) at Aerocity, New Delhi, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, and subject matter experts to chart a transformative roadmap for India’s agricultural sector.
CoE is envisioned as a national-level platform for promoting climate-resilient, sustainable, and market-driven agriculture, with a strong emphasis on cooperative-led development. It will cater to key regions including Eastern Uttar Pradesh, North Bengal, Sikkim, and the North Eastern states—areas known for their agro-climatic diversity and untapped agricultural potential.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah this CoE will be headquartered in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. It was spoken by Dhananjay Kumar Singh, a veteran Cooperative Thinker & Leader and Member of the Board of Management at National Devt. Cooperative Corporation & Chairman INDCOOP. He also mentioned that the proposed Centre of Excellence will function as a multi-dimensional institution, integrating three core components—a technology and knowledge hub, a market integration platform, and a sustainability and carbon management centre. Key focus areas include soil and water conservation, reduction in chemical usage, productivity enhancement, crop diversification, promotion of medicinal and aromatic plants, and development of carbon credit-based income streams.
Joachem Rover, a consultant on Agriculture from Belgium, expressed his views and emphasised the importance of Farm Mechanisation and technology intervention in agriculture and how it enables increasing the quality and production of the produce. Yogendra Kumar, Director Marketing IFFCO & Chairman Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samity Ltd., highlighted the selected location of the CoE as a key factor that covers major agro-climatic zones and agricultural produce areas in Eastern India. Dr. Sudhakar Pandey, ADG-ICAR, contributed with his experience and mentioned the need for alternate and high-value crops in Medicinal & Aromatic crops, Spices etc., as the need of the hour. He also mentioned the potential of growing Medicinal Orchids in the NER region. Dr. R. S. Kureel, former Vice Chancellor, stressed the necessity of Input support services for the Farmer clusters / FPOs / B-PACS and their Marker linkages as essential. Mr. Ranjan D Sen, a Social Entrepreneur and Secretary of JVES, provided his inputs on the potential of including Medicinal & Aromatic plants with the need for Organic farming & certification system and Carbon sequestration model for creating a traceable model with positive impact on the livelihood of the farmers & transparency for other key stakeholders.
The meeting was also attended by Capt. Govind Kumar Gautam from Dubai, who highlighted the importance of financial institutions and linking produce to the international market. Mr.Alok Pandey, Lalit Beri, Padam Sharma, Chairman of the Sikkim Farmers Welfare Board and other key stakeholders. The meeting was concluded with thanks from Dhanajay Singh ji to all the dignitaries for contributing their valuable thoughts on the CoE.
