Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that one of the development philosophies of the Father of the Nation was 'cooperatives'. Rural Development and Cooperatives Division is playing an important role in alleviating poverty and socio-economic development through cooperatives. At present there are about 1 lakh 96 thousand cooperative societies in the country, of which about 1 crore 17 lakh are individual members. Cooperatives are playing an important role in agriculture, fish farming and animal husbandry, dairy production, meeting nutritional needs, transportation, small-scale business, housing, women's empowerment, and improving the living standards of the underprivileged.
The Prime Minister said this in a message on the occasion of 'National Cooperative Day-2021' on Saturday (November 6).
The Prime Minister said, "I am happy to know that the 50th National Cooperative Day is being celebrated with due dignity across the country." On this occasion, I extend my sincere greetings to all the cooperatives of the country. I think the theme of this year's Cooperative Day 'Bangabandhu's philosophy, development in cooperatives' has become very timely and significant.
Sheikh Hasina said the dream cherished by the greatest Bengali of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was to build a happy-prosperous-self-reliant Bangladesh. Considering the importance of cooperatives, he defined cooperatives as the second sector of ownership in the constitution of Bangladesh. He called for a people-oriented cooperative movement of the Father of the Nation for the economic emancipation of the people of this country. Milkvita, one of the cooperatives in Bangladesh, was formed by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib.
The Cooperative Societies Act, 2001 and later the Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2013 were enacted to bring transparency and dynamism in cooperative activities. The quality of life and social development of the co-operatives is increasing due to the provision of training, financial and material assistance including increase in the budget of the co-operative sector.
He said, "We have started the work of making 'Bangabandhu Model Village' in the light of the Father of the Nation's people-oriented cooperative thinking in the year of Mujib." Initially, a total of 5,000 people from 10 villages in 9 districts of the country will benefit from this project. The project will play a role in increasing rural income, creating employment, improving rural living opportunities through infrastructure development and reducing the flow of people from villages to cities.
The Awami League government is working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and build a developed Bangladesh by 2041. I hope the cooperatives of the country will play a leading role in achieving this goal of the government. With the joint efforts of all, we will be able to build the golden Bangladesh of Bangabandhu's dream of hunger and poverty, Inshallah. I wish the overall success of the 50th National Cooperative Day-2021 program.