Shri Pankaj Bansal, IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation and Managing Director, NCDC was re-elected Chairman of the Thailand based the Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific (NEDAC). The election was held during the General Assembly and Executive Committee meeting of NEDAC held on 24-28 February, 2025 at Mombasa, Kenya.
The Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific (NEDAC) serves as a distinctive regional platform connecting 21 apex cooperative organizations across 12 countries. Today, NEDAC has 57 members from various countries.
Established in 1991, NEDAC was established by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), and the International Labour Organization (ILO), following a recommendation from the 1990 ICA regional conference of cooperative ministers.
Initially, NEDAC began with 10 cooperative organizations from nine Asian countries which grew to 21 cooperative member organizations spanning 12 countries. These organizations, located in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, represent three million agricultural cooperatives that significantly enhance the livelihoods of 150 million rural households.
NEDAC works to raise awareness among governments in the region about the critical role agricultural cooperatives play in advancing agricultural and rural development. This effort is aimed at securing food and livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people across Asia and the Pacific.
