CO-OPS can play a broader role - President to Co-op Reps

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa says that the Co-operative movement can play a vital role in providing relief to both farmers and consumers. The co-operatives can intervene in purchasing fresh produce directly from the farmers and provide it to the consumers at a subsidised price with a profit, a statement from the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.

According to the statement, the President said that this would empower the Co-operative movement to revive itself, which saw the downfall with the open economy, and play a major social role in the event of a disaster.

The Co-operative movement in 112 countries around the world is enormously successful in its operations and the first Saturday of every July, is designated as the “International Co-operative Day”. The President shared these views addressing the event organised to commemorate the “99th International Co-operative Day” held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday morning.

The Cooperatives operate as a philanthropic mechanism for product distribution in many of the countries around the world. The co-operative movement in the country has been strong whenever there has been a people-friendly government. The President stated that the National Policy Framework “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” will be implemented to strengthen the cooperatives within the people-centric economic vision.

President Rajapaksa said that the cooperatives could make a significant contribution to make the government’s plans for organic fertiliser and solar energy programmes a success.