Jaipur, 28 August: Chief Minister Mr. Ashok Gehlot said that the state government will give full encouragement to the district milk producers cooperative associations to promote the dairy sector in the state.
He said that agriculture and animal husbandry is the mainstay of livelihood in rural areas. Every possible step will be taken to strengthen the dairy sector so that more employment opportunities are available to the youth.
Shri Gehlot was addressing the foundation stone laying ceremony of the state-of-the-art milk processing plant at Bhilwara District Milk Producers’ Cooperative Federation to be built at a cost of around Rs 75 crore through a video conference from the Chief Minister’s residence on Friday. The plant, to be ready by August 2022, will have a capacity of 5 lakh liters per day.
Nehruji’s big contribution in strengthening the cooperative movement
Shri Gehlot said that in strengthening the cooperative movement in the country, former Prime Minister, self. Jawaharlal Nehru has been a major contributor. The result of his foresight is that our country, dependent on other countries, could move towards being self-sufficient. Former Prime Minister Late Indira Gandhi’s efforts led to significant innovations in the country such as the Green Revolution and the White Revolution, which enabled the country to become self-sufficient in the field of food grains and made incredible progress in the field of dairy. He started a revolution in dairy sector. Varghese also recalled Kurian’s contribution.
Agriculture Minister Shri Lalchand Kataria said that in this time of Corona, farmers and herders are supporting the economy of the country and the state. He said that the increasing interest of youth in the traditional field of farming and animal husbandry is a good sign.
Gopalan Minister Pramod Bhaya said that despite the economic crisis caused by Kovid-19, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is continuously taking welfare decisions in the interest of farmers and livestock farmers.
Cooperative Minister Shri Udayalal Anjana said that there are about 33 thousand cooperative institutions in Rajasthan, out of which about 15,000 are related to dairy sector. She said that the participation of women in the dairy sector has also increased considerably.
Chairman of National Dairy Development Board, Mr. Dilip Rath said that remarkable work is being done in the field of dairy development in Rajasthan. He said that it is a welcome decision to give 2 rupees per liter subsidy to cattle rearers under the Chief Minister Milk Producer Sambal Yojana. He said that NDDB will cooperate fully in the dairy development of Rajasthan. The progress made by Bhilwara Dairy Federation in milk collection and marketing is commendable. For this, this association has also received the Excellence Award.
While giving the presentation, Executive Director of NDDB Mr. Arun Raste said that in the last 10 years, milk collection in Rajasthan has increased by 5.6 percent annually. He said that 18 thousand 500 new small and marginal milk producing members will get livelihood from the new plant.
Chairman and MLA of Bhilwara Milk Producers Association Mr. Ramlal Jat said that this new plant being set up in collaboration with NDDB will further strengthen the Bhilwara Dairy. Due to environment friendly, power saving and low cost of cooling, this plant will help milk producers to give better price of milk. Minister of State for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Shri Bhajan Lal Jatav thanked.
Mr. KL Swamy, Managing Director of Rajasthan Cooperative Dairy Federation gave the welcome address. The presidents and officials of various District Milk Producer Cooperative Associations, MLAs, other public representatives, officers and representatives of the dairy sector connected to the program through video conference.