The Assam government has signed an agreement with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) delegating the operational management of the East Assam Milk Producers’ Cooperative Union Limited to the national dairy body.
The contract was signed by representatives from both sides in the presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at the day-long Northeast Dairy Cooperative Conclave 2022 held at the Sankardev Kalakshetra complex.
Sarma expressed hope that today’s agreement to hand over operational management of the East Assam Milk Producers’ Cooperative Union Limited would improve the financials of the ailing cooperative body, as happened in the case of Purabi Dairy.
The Chief Minister mentioned the total daily low milk production of just about 1 lakh litres in the state (against the requirement of nearly 42 lakh litres) in comparison to states such as Gujarat and Karnataka (with 2 crore litres and 80 lakhs of daily milk production, respectively), and the various measures already being implemented or in the pipeline to bring about a “White Revolution” in the state.
Assam has taken a number of significant steps to bring about a “White Revolution” in the state. Firstly, a large number of Gir breed of cows have been bought from Gujarat. They plan to take that number to 15,000. Secondly, an extensive use of artificial insemination methods has been used so that we have the best offspring of cattle in the state.
Thirdly, the state is strengthening the cooperative milk production environment by providing the dairy farmers avenues to diversify their markets through initiatives such as today’s signing of an agreement.
Furthermore, the state focused on becoming a milk-processing hub through investments in milk processing units. Moreover, there are attempts to provide affordable veterinary care to the dairy framers. This would ensure a healthy livestock population in the state.
“If we are able to increase the daily milk production to even a million (10 lakh) litres, it would reduce our dependency on milk from outside the state. “This would result in considerable monetary gain for our dairy farmers,” the Chief Minister added. The “Purabi Cattle Feed Plant” at Changsari was also commissioned remotely by the Chief Minister at the event.
The cattle feed plant will supply concentrated, nutritious cattle feed to farmers in the state. It is worth noting that lack of nutritious cattle feed is one of the major contributing factors behind low milk yield in the state. Assam Agriculture Atul Bora, lauding the Chief Minister’s role in bringing about a revolutionary change in the state’s dairy environment, listed out the various initiatives such as cold chain management, value addition, among others, that have been taken by the government. He further appealed to the dairy farmers to make the best use of these initiatives so that in the days to come, they are in a position to give the farmers of the other states a run for their money in a healthy competitive environment.