NEW DELHI: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Saturday dedicated to the nation the newly commissioned Sulfuric Acid Plant-3 (SAP-III) at Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) unit in Paradeep, Odisha. Shah said the Ministry of Cooperation and the Odisha government would work together to improve rural life in the state. He noted that this is the third stream of sulfuric acid plant at IFFCO’s Paradeep unit. “In 2005, IFFCO bought this plant for Rs 2,577 crore and at that time its production capacity was 7.5 lakh metric tonnes. Today, the capacity has increased to around 22 lakh metric tonnes,” he said. According to Shah, IFFCO benefits nearly five crore farmers across the country.“Wherever IFFCO factories are located, their real owners are India’s five crore farmers. Its turnover of over Rs 41,000 crore, profits of over Rs 3,800 crore and net worth of over Rs 28,000 crore belong to these farmers. This is the real strength of the cooperative model,” he said. “The Government of India is committed to strengthening the cooperative movement so that farmers can become economically stronger and agriculture can move towards greater self-reliance. Scaling up fertilizer infrastructure using modern technology will ensure timely availability of agricultural inputs to farmers and help improve productivity,” he added. The new sulfuric acid plant was established at an estimated cost of around Rs 700 crore and has a production capacity of approximately 2,000 metric tonnes per day. The facility is expected to enhance the operational capacity of the Paradeep complex, one of the largest integrated phosphate fertilizer production units in India.Besides Shah, the inauguration ceremony was attended by Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, IFFCO Chairman Dilip Sanghani, IFFCO CEO KJ Patel, Members of Parliament, State Ministers and senior officials.