Nov 20, 2020
National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) of India is vigorously working with the Govt of Maharashtra and striving to implement dairy development projects in the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions including small and marginal dairy farmers.
NDDB initiatives have enhanced the income of more than 91,000 farmers by providing fair consumer prices, it says.
Shri. Dilip Rath, Chairman of the NDDB says, “Vidarbha and Marathwada has been the most drought-affected regions, making it agriculturally distressed; therefore dairying in such adverse climatic conditions can create additional sources for the livelihood of farmers. NDDB, through its subsidiary Mother Dairy, set up milk procurement infrastructure to facilitate the larger objective of rural prosperity by providing better remuneration to the farmers of the region”.
In 2013, an MOU was signed between NDDB and Govt of Maharashtra for taking up dairy development in the drought-prone regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada. This initiative was to make dairying a source of sustainable livelihood and poverty mitigation for milk producers. The project refurbished the Nagpur Dairy plant, which has a milk processing capacity of 200,000 litres per day.
Considering the project, on average 185,000 litres of milk is procured every day at 1,454 milk pooling points (MPPs) and products are being supplied to more than 2,350 milk franchisee outlets and retailers in about 40 cities. At present, milk is being procured from dairy farmers residing in around 2,503 villages of 10 districts: Amravati, Buldhana, Chandrapur, Nagpur, Wardha and Yavatmal in Vidarbha and Nanded, Osmanabad, Latur and Jalna in Marathwada.
An electronic weighing/testing facility is installed to ensure a transparent system wherein farmers can observe the weight, quality results, and value of their milk poured. A computerized printed slip is provided to each farmer and they receive their payments directly in their bank accounts. It is to be noted that almost 30% of the members are women and a further emphasis is being laid to increase their active participation in the system.
The Bovine Feed
To augment the milk production which will further increase dairy farmers’ income, good quality cattle feed and fodder are being provided to members covering 319 villages and mineral mixture to members covering 265 villages. Conserving green fodder in the form of silage is one of the best options available to ensure a regular supply of quality fodder to bovines, especially during the lean season. Farmers are also being trained in silage-preparation.
NDDB, in collaboration with All India Radio, has also launched Radio Samvad – a programme to awareness in the series on the radio for dairy farmers of the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions. Every Tuesday and Friday, a 30-minute episode is broadcasted from Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Nanded, Nagpur, and Osmanabad radio stations on subjects related to the scientific approach to dairy animal management. Subject experts from NDDB are conducting the sessions in which dairy farmers are taking a keen interest that will help them to be more enthusiastic in their dairy activities.