launching the state-run Parag’s fortified milk, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that Uttar Pradesh had a vast potential in dairy sector which only needed a collective push to streamline the marketing process and educating farmers about the virtues of milk societies.
“Once UP was known as the land of milk products. It lost its position to other states because of the faulty policies of the previous governments. The need of the hour is to provide high breed cattle to the farmers and educate them about marketing skills. If we can do this, words like UP being the land of milk and honey will start ringing again,” Yogi said at a function held here on Monday where he distributed Gokul awards among farmers who excelled in milk production.
He also launched the fortified milk from Parag. This milk is rich in vitamins A and D.
The Chief Minister also launched a testing strip to check adulteration in the soybean powder. The strip is produced by PCDF.
Varun Singh from milk society of Belwamoti in lakhimpur Kheri was awarded the first prize for the year 2017-18 for highest production of milk. He was given got a cash award of Rs 2 lakh.
Mrs Kusum of Milk Society Magauri in Meerut received the second prize of Rs 1.50 lakh.
Varun produced 1,23,650 litres of milk to get the first prize while Kusum distributed 96,023 litres of milk.
Congratulating the winners, the Chief Minister said that these people had created history by their grit and determination. “They are the role model for others who can follow them to reap a rich harvest in the diary sector,” he added.
Reiterating the government’s commitment to extending help to people in farm and related sectors, Yogi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had plans to double the income of farmers by 2022. He said the Central and state governments had launched many schemes for the farmers.
“Farmers can go for dairy sector besides working in the farm sector. There is big potential. Records suggest that farmers have not diversified in true sense,” he said.
To justify his claim, Yogi said that UP was home to 22 crore people, it had 18 divisions, 75 districts, 653 municipal wards and over 60,000 village panchayats but the number of milk societies was just 6,735 – slightly more than 10 per cent of gram panchayats.
“This ratio should change. The earlier we change it the better it will be for the state,” he said.
Milk Development Minister laxmi Narayan Chaudhry said that the state government was working to increase milk production. He said that in the last one year, there was an increase of 1,32 lakh litre in milk production.