With farmers neglecting calves and fodder becoming a huge problem, the Andhra Pradesh Dairy Development Co-operative Federation Ltd (APDDCFL) has proposed Rs 2,080-crore scheme during the 12th Five-Year Plan.
The Board officials have presented the highlights of the scheme to the Planning Commission representatives on Sunday here.
“We have proposed to set up 800 bulk cooling centres in as many mandals to let entrepreneurs to store surplus milk from villages,” Ms M. Seetharamamma, General Manager of the federation, said. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, she said the federation would focus on calf-rearing in order to strengthen the dairy industry. “Little milk is left for calves. This hinders their growth and leads to high levels of mortality. We need to address this problem so that they can complement dairy production. It is proposed to grow fodder in 2,600 acres under the national job guarantee scheme,” she said.
The federation is also planning to sell milk and milk products through women self-help groups.
Mini Dairies
Dr Somashekhar, Additional Director (Planning) of Department of Animal Husbandry (Government of Andhra Pradesh), said the State would promote the establishment of mini dairies.
Though the scheme was vogue, the subsidy component on interest was not that attractive. In order to attract entrepreneurs, the Government now proposed to provide a subsidy of 25 per cent on capital expenditure.
Dairy Meet
APDDCF, in association with the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, would hold a day-long workshop on September 9 on ‘Dairy Development in Andhra Pradesh – a changing perspective'. Representatives from the National Dairy Development Board, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Indian Immunological Ltd and from other stakeholders would take part in the meet.