With Punjab being the second highest milk producing state in the country, NABARD today announced the launch of a new scheme for state's five districts to boost milk output and enhance income of dairy farmers.
NABARD, which has pegged credit potential for dairy sector in Punjab sat Rs 3,525 crore for next financial year, announced the roll out area development scheme for dairy farmers of ludhiana, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar districts. Under this scheme, the milk output will be augmented with use of latest technology in these districts and focus will be laid on building the capacity of dairy farmers and increase their income, a NABARD official said here.
The milk production in Punjab is pegged at 10.01 million tonne per annum which is about 7.58 per cent of country's total milk output. Among several challenges faced by dairy sector, the milk processing capacity in the state is far less than output. The installed capacity of milk processing in the state is about 81.25 lakh litres which account for only about 31 per cent of milk production in the state, as per NABARD's focus paper on Punjab.
Besides lack of financing on quality milch animals, inadequate infrastructure for providing training at doorstep particularly for women dairy entrepreneurs was another challenge. Meanwhile, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) today projected a credit plan of Rs 1,41,284 crore for Punjab for 2015-16, which is 22 per cent more than what it was projected for current fiscal.
The credit plan was launched by Punjab Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal who sought cooperation of financial institutions in liberal financing to rural youth so that the issue of migration from rural to urban areas was addressed. Out of total credit potential, the share of crop loan worked out at Rs 70,810 crore (50 per cent share, agricultural and allied sector term loan at Rs 21,227 crore, MSME at Rs 22,402 crore and other priority sector at Rs 26,845 crore, NABARD Chief General Manager Naresh Gupta said here today.
NABARD officials said in order to direct the credit flow to various sectors, potential for these sectors has been assessed, which will in turn help the banks to plan their credit offtake during 2015-16. Projections for some important sub-sectors are Rs 3,525 crore for dairy development, Rs 1,733 crore for storage/ market yards, Rs 2,892 crore for farm mechanisation, Rs 1,490 crore for land development, Rs 751 crore for irrigation sector, Rs 799 crore for poultry, Rs 353 crore for plantation and horticulture.
On this occasion, various speakers presenting their papers during the seminar expressed concern over the agriculture sector facing stagnation in production and productivity, monoculture of wheat and paddy cycle declining water table, deteriorating soil health due to excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides in Punjab.