Oil India Ltd (OIL), which sought help from the Institute of Rural Management-Anand (IRMA) for dairying, on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India’s premier rural management institution.
The MoU was signed by IRMA Director Prof. Jeemol Unni and Mr. N R Deka, General Manager (Administration. & PR), OIL, in the presence of R S Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF).
Venturing into dairy production, OIL had approached IRMA for conducting a feasibility study in the districts of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia in Assam. The study is expected to pave the way for a roadmap and a long-term vision plan while focusing on the prospects of developing a cooperative dairy development project in these two districts.
It is also expected to stimulate employment and infrastructure supporting the processing, procurement, and marketing of milk in a cost-effective way. The bottomline involves improving the social, nutritional, and economic status of residents in and around OIL operational areas, according to a press release here.
The feasibility study will focus on quantitative, qualitative and participatory methods of inquiry where secondary data will be collected from various sources. This would help IRMA’s research team to identify dairying as an alternative source of livelihood.