SHILLONG, Nov 26 : Along with the rest of the country, Meghalaya also celebrated National Milk Day on Friday at the Central Dairy Campus in Mawiong to mark the birth anniversary of the father of the White Revolution, Dr. Verghese Kurien.
Dairy Development is a new concept in the state of Meghalaya and the idea to promote this sector by involving the farmers through the formation of a union, was mooted three years ago when the government felt the need to fill the gap in the demand and supply of milk in the state.
In a conversation with The Shillong Times, the Director of Dairy Development Agency and Managing Director of Shillong Milk Union, LS Shangpliang, these farmers come together to form a cooperative society and federate to form the union, which is tasked with even the formulation and implementation of a scheme and selection of beneficiaries.
The dairy plant in Shillong is also run by the East Khasi Hills Milk Union also known as Shillong Milk Union.
“So, it is the farmers who are running the whole show – even the processing part is done by the farmers through the help of the professionals; same with the marketing part. So it is farmers’ empowerment,” Shangpliang said.
According to the Chairman of Umlyngka Primary Milk Producer Cooperative Society, PR Kharbteng, the milk is collected amongst the members before being sent to the dairy plant here in Mawiong.
Kharbteng has been in this business for decades. “We formed the society in the year 1990. Initially, there were only seven members and with the help of our family members, we were able to attain the required number to form the society. At present, we have 120 members. From our society, we produce over 4000 liters of milk per day,” he said.
When asked, the Director of Dairy Development Agency said milk production is very less compared to the rest of India and this is due to the fact that in Meghalaya, people are not into drinking milk as the proteins that people get are from the meat they eat.
“Dairy development is still in the infancy stage in Meghalaya and it is still a long way for the state to be at the same level as Amul, an Indian dairy cooperative society, based in Gujarat,” he added.
When asked about the involvement of the youths in this sector, Shangpliang said with the implementation of the Milk Mission in 2019, the agency has witnessed a considerable number of young entrepreneurs engaging in the dairy sector.
“Yes, young entrepreneurs are coming to us, seeking our support and guidance in the dairying sector. The response is very encouraging; in fact, they are very hardworking. We look forward that more and more young people come to us,” he stated.
A young entrepreneur who is also part of the Shillong Milk Union, Mebatskhem Latam from Tynrai Multipurpose Cooperative society, said the main initiative is to form a society that would assist the milk union so that they can benefit each other in dairy development with more emphasis on marketing.
This society, which was registered in 2019, specializes in the home delivery of milk and milk products. “The response in respect to home delivery was good. We initially started with 5 litres of milk per day as on June 2019 and when we look at the market now, we are marketing around 1200 to 1300 litres of milk per day,” he said.
According to him, this breakthrough came along with the onslaught of COVID. “People started seeing the need for a solution – something they can count on when there is shutdown and curfews. That is why they shifted to a home delivery platform,” Latam added.
Furthermore, to provide a platform for farmers in the dairy and other allied sectors, the agency also opened an outlet – Na Ri Essentials at Mawiong where products of Na Ri – the brand adopted by the East Khasi Hills District Cooperative Milk Union Ltd, and other local products are being sold.
“This outlet is run by the employees of the Shillong Milk Union. The main aim of the society/union is to set up a parlour cum consumer store. By setting up these kinds of parlours, we help market the local produce because the main problem faced by the local entrepreneurs is marketing. We aim to set up these kinds of parlours on other locations – Nongkrem, Smit, and even in Ri Bhoi, where we have tied up with ICAR,” said Assistant Manager Shillong Milk Union Fairly Pathaw.
There are over a hundred dairy cooperative societies in the state; these societies produce the milk and supply it to different plants in Shillong, Jowai, Tura, and Nongstoin. It was informed that in Shillong city alone, the demand for milk is around 1 lakh litres per day but the milk plant in the city manages to cater to just around 14-15,000 litres per day.
Seeing the gradual growth of this sector in the state, the agency has increased the capacity of the milk plant in Shillong from 10,000 litres to 50,000 litres.
The same project is being replicated in Ri Bhoi – Umsning where a new plant will be set up and will produce up to 10,000 litres of milk per day. Two more projects are coming up in Jaintia Hills and West Garo Hills with a total capacity of 20,000 litres of milk per day.
About the Milk Mission 2019
This mission was in 2019. This is a dedicated mission of the government of Meghalaya which seeks to integrate the Anand Model (AMUL Model) from Gujarat and the community approach. The primary objectives – increase milk production, encourage farmers in the development of Community farming-based Dairy Co-operative Societies, and the development of community ranches.
Through this mission, farmers can avail the interest-free loan based on their capability – of which 70 percent is the loan, 25 percent is subsidy and the remaining 5 percent is farmers’ contribution.
On this day, many stalls were set up by stakeholders – to showcase and sell their dairy products. Competitions like drawing and essay writing were also held for the children – pictures of which were put up for display at the venue. The mood was further brightened by live performances from upcoming singers and artists.
