KATHMANDU: National Cooperatives’ Federation Ltd (NCFL) celebrated the 53rd anniversary of the establishment of the first cooperative in Nepal by holding discussions on the need for proper recognition of cooperatives. On the occasion, NCFL’s executive chairman Dipak Baskota said, “The constitution of 2019 BS and the interim constitution of 2063 BS of Nepal have given due importance to cooperatives and we are hopeful that the coming constitution will also recognize the significance of cooperatives in nation building.”

The cooperative movement can help especially at a time

when there is capital flight,

decreasing remittance and deficit in balance of payment.

“Cooperatives promote self-employment, poverty alleviation, promotion of marginalised people and help narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots,” he added.

Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav said, “The recent global recession has proven

that when huge multi-national banks were crashing none of

the cooperatives have been

affected. This shows the strength of cooperatives.”

The names of the nine different cooperatives that excelled in

their respective fields were also announced.

Currently, there are more than 18,000 cooperatives in Nepal. It is believed that one-fourth of the total population of Nepal is directly involved in cooperatives.