Plans afoot for another white revolution in Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada: Setting the tone for yet another white revolution in the state and economically empowering women through revival of the now diluted cooperative farming, the government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the renowned Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL).

The state is poised to usher in a new era of prosperity as milk cooperatives are set to be rejuvenated with great vigour in the government sector.

Ironically, despite earning the distinction of being the fourth largest producer of milk in the country, the state is still languishing in terms of dairy farmers not getting proper remunerative prices.

The tie-up is fallout of the promise made to dairy farmers by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy during his pre-election Praja Sankalpa Yatra. Noting that the cooperative societies had gone into the red during the previous regime due to exploitation by private dairy companies, he felt it necessary to revive the sector in an effective manner, thereby giving a fillip to women's SHGs. The government is planning to turnaround the dairy sector by injecting competitive spirit into the cooperatives and providing incentives to women's SHGs.

The MoU provides for steps to improve marketing opportunities apart from providing the best technology. It seeks to eradicate exploitation by private dairy companies and do away with middlemen through direct payments to milk producers. The government is planning to make use of financial assistance to the tune of Rs 44,000 crore in four years under YSR Asara and YSR Cheyutha programmes to empower SHGs in the dairy sector.

While 219 lakh litres of milk is being sold in the unorganised sector, only 69 litres is being marketed in the organised sector, that is, through dairy firms. The milk procured by dairy companies accounts for only 24 per cent of the total milk produced in the State. While this is so, the Andhra Pradesh Cooperative Federation Limited is presently procuring 30,000 – 50,000 litres of milk per day which means that there is immense scope for dairy development in the state.

The strategic partnership with AMUL will help foster better fodder for cattle, free of cost veterinary services, setting up of better dairy plants and diagnostic facilities.

Another important aspect of the MoU is to impart training to members of milk societies for whom payments will be done directly. AMUL will create marketing facilities for surplus milk.

Apart from this, new milk chilling and processing plants will be set up at various places in the state. The MoU envisages identification of local markets and supply milk products to state-level markets.

One of the major features of the MoU is to market milk products under the brand name of AMUL, thereby increasing the sales. The government will allocate land for dairy farmers to set up plants. As many as 9,951villages, which are now playing a key role in the dairy sector, will soon have bulk milk cooling units to be set up at a total cost of Rs 1937.95 crore. Along with this, basic infrastructure at APDDCFL units will get a facelift. The dairy plants at Kankipadu in Krishna district and another unit in Prakasam district will be developed. Efforts to revive milk societies in Ananthapuram, YSR Kadapa, Chittoor and West Godavari districts will be strengthened. The services of assistants appointed across the State by the Animal Husbandry Department at 10,641 Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs) will be utilised for effective implementation of the new policies.