Kerala to Expand Dairy Village Project to 40 Panchayats: Minister Chinchurani

KOCHI:
Moving closer to its aim of self-sufficiency in milk production, the Kerala government will implement the pioneering Dairy Village project in 40 more panchayats during the next financial year, Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Milk Cooperatives J. Chinchurani said today.

The proposed plan envisages payment of Rs 50 lakh for each chosen panchayat, with the amount being contributed equally by the civic body and state government, she said after inaugurating Milma’s H2F (Help to Farmers) project at Edappally, north of the city.

The announcement comes one-and-a-half months after the government announced a plan outlay of Rs 12.5 crore to implement the Ksheera Gramam (Dairy Village) project under the state’s Commercial Dairy Milk and Milk Shed Development Programme.

“From 20, we are doubling the number of the panchayats,” the Minister said at the function, which also saw the release of four new Milma products besides the distribution of consent letters to install 16 bulk milk coolers (BMCs) in the four central-Kerala district of the cooperative’s Ernakulam Regional Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union (ERCMPU).

Appealing to dairy farmers to go for total insurance cover for their cows and calves, the Minister said the government has of late been striving to improve the efficiency of the state’s dairy sector by enabling a rise in the volume of milk per cow. “When Punjab stands first in the country with 14.5 litres of milk a day from a cow, Kerala comes second with 10.6 litres. We need to go up the rank,” she urged at the ceremony presided over by ERCMPU Chairman M.T. Jayan.

Releasing the logo of H2F, Smt Chinchurani also announced the launch of compensation to APCOS (Anand Pattern Cooperative Societies) in the event of damage to their buildings owing to natural disasters. She also declared open a scheme that entitles farmers with a minimal refund if they lose their cow or calf unexpectedly.

The government is going ahead with implementing the decisions taken at state Dairy Development Department’s six-day ‘Padavu 2023’ conclave held at Thrissur last month, the Minister said efforts were on to implement an all-Kerala regulation in the timing of milking the cows to increase their efficacy. “We are trying to fix the time at dawn and dusk in place of the current general practice of small hours and afternoon. This will ensure an ideal gap of 12 hours and also facilitate the dairy farmers to engage in other day-time jobs that can increase their income,” she revealed.

Authorities are also working on village-level standards of cattle health by recruiting more veterinary doctors in big-size panchayats. “We are busy containing certain diseases among the cattle of the state and mulling over compensation to farmers losing cows and calves owing to such ailments,” the Minister said. Also, Milma is in the process of going for identical plastic covers across its three regions in the state.

Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF) Managing Director Asif K. Yusuf distributed consent letters to install 16 BMCs across the four districts (Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kottayam and Idukki) of ERCMPU. To be implemented by the ERCMPU, the project will be implemented with assistance from the central government. Milma, which is the trade name for the 1980-founded KCMMF, is a dairy cooperative owned by the state government’s Ministry of Cooperation.

Milma’s new products released today were Sugar-Free Peda, Chocolate Peda, Jack Fruit Peda and Guava Ice-cream.

ERCMPU’s Jayan said in his presidential address that the cooperative union has submitted to the government a set of developmental projects totalling Rs 40 crore. “As much as 83 per cent of Milma’s revenues go to the farmers, while the rest is used for welfare purposes,” he added.

ERCMPU Board Member John Theruvath welcomed the gathering, while ERCMPU Managing Director Wilson J. Puravakatt proposed thanks.

Present at the function were Kalamassery Municipal Chairperson Seema Kannan, besides members of civic bodies and the ERCMPU board.