Cooperatives are rewriting the economics of farming in Banaskantha — and Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Paatil wants that story told loudly. On Friday, 30 October 2026, Paatil took to X to amplify Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on how cooperative structures, agri-processing, and cluster-based development are opening new frontiers of prosperity for India's farmers.

Posting in Hindi, the senior BJP leader wrote: 'सहकारिता की शक्ति से किसानों की समृद्धि को मिल रहा नया विस्तार!' — ('The prosperity of farmers is finding new dimensions through the power of cooperatives!') He specifically noted that PM Modi had highlighted the global recognition earned by Banaskantha's potatoes and the contribution of Banas Dairy as proof that the cooperative model can transform rural livelihoods far beyond milk.

Banas Dairy and Banaskantha's Potato Belt: A Model in Motion

Banas Dairy, headquartered in Banaskantha district of northern Gujarat, is one of India's largest dairy cooperatives, a cornerstone of the state's celebrated white revolution legacy. The same district also hosts a vast potato-growing belt, and efforts have been underway to build an international identity for its produce — positioning Banaskantha alongside its dairy success with a second agri-commodity on the global map.

PM Modi has consistently pointed to the Amul-Banas cooperative template as a replicable model since 2014 — one where collective farmer ownership, processing infrastructure, and assured market linkages drive income far above what raw produce alone can fetch. The argument is simple and sharp: value addition, not just primary production, is the ladder out of agrarian distress.

The Ministry of Cooperation's Role in Scaling the Template

The institutional backbone for this push was laid in July 2021, when the Centre created a standalone Ministry of Cooperation — the first time independent India had one — to revitalise the cooperative sector and knit it into agri-processing policy. The ministry has since worked to link cooperative societies with food-processing clusters, training pipelines, and export-readiness programmes.

Paatil's post lands at a moment when policymakers are watching closely to see which crops and districts emerge as the next cluster-development success stories. Potato processing and dairy exports from Gujarat sit near the top of that watchlist, with new cooperative-based food-processing clusters and potential export-incentive announcements expected in the coming parliamentary and budget cycles.

If Banaskantha can do for potatoes what Anand did for milk, India's cooperative movement will have found its second iconic chapter — and the political case for cluster-based rural development will be nearly impossible to argue against.