Lok Sabha Question No. 1580 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-09
Subject: Strengthening of Cooperative Dairies in Bihar
Ministry: COOPERATION
Asked by: Shri Tariq Anwar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1580 TO BE ANSWERED ON 9 th  DECEMBER, 2025

## Strengthening of Cooperative Dairies in Bihar

## †1580 . Shri Tariq Anwar:

Will the Minister of COOPERATION ( सहकारिता मंत्री ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any special scheme has been launched to address the problems of small farmers, limited storage facilities, lack of marketing system for products like litchi and strengthening of cooperative dairies in Bihar; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION सहकारिता मंत्री (SHRI AMIT SHAH)

(a) to (b): Yes,  Sir.  The  Government  has  launched  several  initiatives  to  address  the challenges faced by small and marginal farmers, including issues of inadequate storage facilities, limited market access for perishable products, and to strengthen cooperative dairies across the country including Bihar.

The  'World's  Largest  Grain  Storage  Plan  in  Cooperative  Sector', which  was  approved  on 31.05.2023 has been rolled out as a Pilot Project, entails creation of various agri infrastructure at PACS level, including godowns, custom hiring centers, processing units, Fair Price Shops, cold storage, etc. through convergence of various existing schemes of the Government of India (GoI), such as, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI), Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), etc.

These interventions aim to directly benefit small and marginal farmers by reducing post-harvest losses,  enhancing  storage  capacity,  and  enabling  better  price  realization.  PACS  are  being developed  as  multipurpose  service  centres  to  provide  market  linkages  and  value-addition support, which can also benefit horticulture crops such as litchi.

Additionally,  under  State  Government  Scheme  of  Bihar  over  7,221  godowns  with  storage capacity of 17.14 LMT have also been constructed.

Further, under the MIDH scheme, which has been converged with World's Largest Grain Storage Plan, assistance is provided for the creation of cold storage, ripening chambers, and processing units for horticultural crops such as litchi across the country including Bihar. This scheme helps farmers reduce post-harvest losses, improve shelf life, and access remunerative markets. Apart from this, under PMFME scheme Litchi is included under the One District One Product (ODOP) approach under which support is provided for the formalization of micro-enterprises involved in processing of various products including litchi, helping them with technology, procurement, and marketing.

To  strengthen  dairy  cooperatives,  the  Government  has  approved  the  plan  to  establish  new multipurpose PACS/dairy/fisheries cooperatives, aiming to cover all panchayats and villages in the country over the next five years. As per the National Cooperative Database, a total of 4,460 new Primary  Dairy  Cooperative  Societies  have  been  registered;  and  834  Dairy  Cooperative Societies  have  been  strengthened  in  the  State  of  Bihar  since  the  approval  of  the  plan  on 15.2.2023.

Apart from the above, a total of 12,112 Dairy Cooperative Societies have been registered by Bihar State Cooperative Milk Federation in the State so far.

Further,  the  Government  is  implementing  a  nationallevel  initiative,  'White  Revolution  2.0' through  the  National  Dairy  Development  Board  (NDDB)  to  enhance  milk  procurement, processing, and distribution infrastructure. These interventions aim to increase fa rmers' income, improve rural employment, and promote sustainable cooperative-based economic growth in all States/ UTs including the State of Bihar.

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