National Milk Day to be observed today
SHILLONG: To achieve the Milk Mission target of increasing production of milk to 2 lakh ton per year, the state Veterinary and Animal Husbandry department is preparing a DPR to set up cattle feed mill/plant in Ri Bhoi.
Addressing the press on Monday to announce the observation of National Milk Day on Tuesday, Secretary of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry department, Manjunatha said that the preparation of the DPR is under way and will be submitted shortly.
He said, “Without sufficient quality feed, we cannot achieve our target (under the Milk Misison) otherwise the cow will not give the expected quantity of milk. Cows are to be fed well. One cow can produce up to 20-25 litres of milk per day”.
He informed that milk production in the state is 86, 000 tons and emphasised on the need to increase the production to 2 lakh tons per year in order to cater to the entire population of the state.
He also reminded that the government launched the Meghalaya Milk Mission with the financial assistance from National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) with financial assistance of Rs 251 crore.
He pointed out that the issue of cattle feed is also being addressed under the Milk Mission and the department is earmarking separate fund under the project to purchase cattle feed and has set a target of 2000 beneficiaries since the project will be implemented through dairy cooperative societies. He added that individual beneficiaries are not eligible under the scheme.
“Anyone wanting to take up the Meghalaya Milk Mission and avail the benefits of the scheme can form a dairy cooperative society to become eligible. Funds will be given for purchasing cattle feed, cattle, vaccination, etc.,” Manjunatha said.
He stated that the dairy sector in other states of the country has revolutionised their rural economy and the state as a whole, while the dairy sector in Meghalaya has not been given due importance which it deserves.
He pointed out that there is a huge gap in demand and supply of milk in the state in comparison to other states in the country.
Supporting his claim, he said in other states the dairy sector has many success stories which include the likes of Amul in Gujarat, Sudha milk in Bihar, Nandini milk in Karnakata, Mother Dairy in Delhi besides Purabi in Assam which is coming up well.
He said the state government wants to focus on dairy sector to provide employment to farmers and youths as well as landless farmers.
“Dairy has immense potential to provide employment to the farmers and it can add to the farm income. Dairy industry will fit suitably in the integrated farming system as farmers get additional income from selling milk but somehow this is missing in Meghalaya,” Manjunatha said.
The state government has taken steps to launch the first-ever cattle ranches programme to promote organic milk production under the Cattle Ranches Scheme, considering the suitable conditions.
Steps are taken to launch the scheme, however, it is not yet finalised.
He informed that several initiatives were taken by the present government to provide more focus on developing the dairy sector such as the creation of Dairy Directorate, upgradation of the Central Dairy Plant in Mawiong from its present capacity of 12,000 to 52,000 in order to make sure that pasteurised milk is available to the people, especially children and the sale of Megha Milk brand.
“Under Milk Mission, the government will induct 10,000 dairy cows to augment milk production. There is reasonable demand for milk in Meghalaya, however, availability is minimal”, he said adding that there is a demand for milk but the state is not able to meet the demand from its local supply.
Milk Mission also seeks to recognise the contribution of Late Verghese Kurien, also known as the Father of White Revolution, and also to educate the people, especially the children about the significance of consuming milk.