Bhubaneswar: Union minister of state for MSME, fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying Pratap Chandra Sarangi Wednesday urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to allow OMFED to resume its normal milk procurement from local dairy farmers Wednesday.
In this letter, Sarangi said as “you are aware, the ongoing lockdown measures have cascading effect on all sectors including the Dairy farmers of the State. Ever since the lockdown, the OMFED has substantially reduced its milk procurement from the local dairy farmers due to severe demand squeeze”.
“The local market has also its own limitation in creating the requisite demand for milk in the prevailing situation. The dairy farmers are facing a great deal of hardship as they have to purchase fodder for their livestock and also spend on their upkeep and maintenance, while not getting the market price for their milk, In many places, they are forced to throw their milk in the open without finding any buyer,” he added.
The Union Minister further requested CM Patnaik to address the concerns of the dairy farmers to resume its normal milk procurement from the local dairy farmers so as to augment its processing capacity to produce more durable milk products like ghee and cheese having greater shelf-life or creating a monetary compensation system to help the dairy farmers sustain in their business in this difficult times.
PNN