Ananta milk gains popularity

Anantapur: Branded as ‘Ananta Milk’ the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) which had launched what it calls as ‘Swachh Milk’ some six months ago involving self help group women is gaining popularity in the city. Its demand is growing and the SHG women are able to sell more than 3000 litres every day. DRDA is planning to push milk sales to 5000 litres every day, this financial year.

Highlights:

• Available at 25 designated centres in the city, this ‘Swachh Milk’ is free from chemical preservatives and 25 fully-trained SHGs, already in the milk business are involved in its production
• Basing on demand, the number of centres is proposed to be increased

The Ananta Milk has five bulk collection centres spread over five mandals including Bukkapatnam, Gudibanda, Rayadurg, Amarapuram and Nallacheruvu from where the collected is supplied to the SHG Cooperative. It is also not pasteurised milk and the percentage of fat content remains intact and unprocessed.

Since no preservatives are used the milk has to be sold on the very day of procurement. He says that they are applying their mind on preservation aspect without using preservatives.

The whole milk with minimum 3 percent fat guarantee is being ensured. This is due to the possibility of milk being mixed with water at the farmer level. However the milk supplied by them is being graded into 1.5 percent fat, 3 percent, 4.5 percent and 6 percent depending upon water mixture levels.

DRDA Assistant project director MV Subbarayudu who is in-charge of the milk project says that lot of effort had been made to make the ‘Ananta Milk’ a reality. The cost of the milk is Rs.24 per litre. The milk vendors are getting Rs.1 per litre as profit. Soon farmers would be given dividend once the company is established and streamlined. Milk procurement will soon be enhanced and marketing would shoot up to 5000 litres per day. The cost of half litre milk sold at the outlet is Rs.19.

There are allegations of private dairies in the city mixing urea, a fertilizer chemical in curd and milk to thicken watery milk as well as to make curd look like a solid block. Already the branded milk companies supplying milk products are buying milk from mini-dairies who are injecting hormonal injections into cows and buffaloes for getting highest milk yield. Today there are reports and allegations of mixing chemicals like urea etc in milk and curd which are hazardous to human health.

The “Swachh Milk” of the DRDA is free from chemical preservatives. Some 25 SHGs had been identified for the purpose. These women are already in milk business having infrastructure and equipment facilities like deep freezers and milk outlets etc who knew the dynamics of milk marketing etc. The women were accorded training in all aspects before launching the 'Ananta Milk'.

The idea behind the initiative is to answer the craving of several milk consumers who are looking for pure and unadulterated milk straight from the dairy farmers who are raising domestic buffaloes or cows and selling milk to the milk procurement centres.

The DRDA believes that more than 90 percent of individual farmers raising buffaloes domestically do not resort to injection of hormones for enhancing milk production in cows and buffaloes which is harmful to health of animals and human beings. These hormones adversely affect the health of consumers as well as the animals defeating the very purpose of consuming milk.

The DRDA through the SHG Cooperative is procuring the milk straight from the farmers and after decently packing them is making the milk available at designated 25 centres in the city on an experimental basis and basing on demand would expand the business in the near future.

DRDA project director M. Venkateshwarlu told 'The Hans India' that the cooperative of women SHG do not have commercial ambitions as in case of corporate milk producer companies which are in the market. Srilatha, an SHG member said while talking to 'The Hans India' said that the milk is trust worthy and the members can vouch for purity. The minimum guarantee is consumers’ health, she added. She hoped that the milk would catch up with the people and capture good market share soon.

By Ravi P Benjamin