Shri. Hemant Soren, Chief Minister of Jharkhand Inaugurated the 07th dairy plant of Jharkhand State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited at Chianki of Palamu District in Jharkhand. This dairy plant has a capacity of 50 TLPD. Jharkhand State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited currently procures approximately 10,000 litres of milk from approximately 2000 milk producers in the district of Palamu. The inauguration of this dairy plant will boost dairy development activity in the district and surrounding areas. The inauguration was done in the presence of Minister Finance, Government of Jharkhand, Shri Rameshwar Oraon, Minister Agriculture, Government of Jharkhand, Shri Badal, MD JMF Shri Sudhir Kr. Singh, and other dignitaries.
The Chief Minister also announced the establishment of two dairy farms, one each with a capacity of 50 TLPD, at Giridih and Jamshedpur to help the milk producer farmers in that area. In addition, one milk powder plant and one product plant will be set up at Ranchi to produce quality products for consumers in the state. The Chief Minister also appreciated JMF for exporting the product to Bahrain and said that Medha is becoming a symbol of livelihood for the rural population. In addition to the milk price paid by Jharkhand State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited, the government of Jharkhand is also paying an additional price of Rs. 3 per litre to milk producers associated with Jharkhand State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited. The government of Jharkhand has launched the Mukhyamantri Pashudhan Vikas Yojna, wherein the people get subsidies ranging from 75% to 90% for different dairy activities.
Jharkhand State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited is the apex cooperative body of milk producers in Jharkhand. At present, more than 50,000 milk producers are associated with the Jharkhand State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited. The farmers pour their milk at more than 100 milk pooling points across the state, thus maintaining the bacteriological quality of the milk. The milk is instantly transferred to nearby BMC and from BMC to the dairy plant. Jharkhand State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited transfers payments to milk producers every 10 days directly through DBT.
Apart from milk procurement, Jharkhand State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited also helps milk producers with productivity enhancement activities like animal treatment, training to raise milk producers’ awareness regarding different feeds and fodder, and a few new activities like the Accelerated Breed Improvement Programme and the Manure Management Programme.
Under the accelerated breed improvement programme, breed improvement in cattle is carried out through IVF technology. This programme is being successfully implemented in Jharkhand with the help of NDDB.
There is another development activity run with the help of NDDB, the Manure Management Programme. In this programme, 100 beneficiaries have been provided with a biogas plant; they use biogas for their fuel consumption, and the byproduct of the biogas plant, i.e., slurry, is purchased from farmers. This is another source of revenue for farmers. The slurry is converted into organic fertilizers which is very useful for agriculture.