Applauding the Union Government to add Jharkhand under the National Dairy Plan-1 recently, Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Monday announced to give PM Suraksha Bima Yojana cover to the farmers possessing less than 5 hectares land, street vendors, rickshaw pullers and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) labourers. The annual premium of Rs12 under the scheme will be given by the Government.
Das vowed to bring “Shwet Kranti” in the State in the next four years, associating with Jharkhand State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation limited (JMF) supported by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). Notably, NDDB had signed an MoU of five years with the Animal Husbandry department in 2014 to manage JMF.
“Consistent efforts are being made to improve the milk production in the State which is 35 per cent less than the requirement. Two cows will be given to each of the BPl families. If more cows are required, we will give them on subsidised rates,” he said.
Thirteen farmers involved in the business of milk production were given an opportunity to share their feelings before the CM. It mainly focused on the unavailability of veterinary specialists round the clock, space crunch for keeping cattle and damaged road used for transportation of milk from farmers to the JMF plant.
Sushma lakra, a farmer, highlighted the profit of running milk production with 15 cows providing 120 litres milk per day. Her three children could pursue engineering with the money earned through milk production.
We have decided to establish 20 animal hostels either through PPP mode or village-based cooperatives. Farmers facing problems in keeping cows can shift them to these hostels. Government will pay the amount required for the treatment of the cattle. For this, veterinarians must write a slip stating that they have checked animal," asserted Das.
In order to boost the economy of the State, he urged the Agriculture Department to host Arogya Fairs like health camps organized in schools or colleges. The CM also asked women farmers to come forward in this business by forming self-help groups (SHGs).
Agriculture Minister Randhir Kumar Singh focused on the upcoming steps for strengthening the milk sector. He said, "A 1 lakh litre per day milk processing plant is being set up at Hotwar with the help of NDDB. It will be completed by December and functioning will start from January next year benefitting farmers of Ranchi, Ramgarh and Khunti."
He said that the unutilized land around the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in Hazaribagh, whose foundation stone was recently laid by PM Narendra Modi will be used for animal husbandry like creating infrastructure for laboratories and tetra packs for dairy products. The proposal will soon come up in the Cabinet.
NDDB Chairman T Nand Kumar pointed out that the two women SHGs performing well will be felicitated with Medha lakshmi award next year. "Years back, we signed MoU for promoting Sudha Dairy. After a decade, it became self-sufficient. Similar efforts are being made to promote Medha brand," the Chairman said. Presently, JMF is producing around 42,000 litres milk per day.