Milma To Increase Dairy Farmers’ Pay

Milma has decided to raise dairy farmer pay in the Malabar region starting in February 2022. On Saturday, the union's 32nd annual general body meeting decided that dairy farmers should be paid an additional Rs 1 per litre based on the quality of their milk.

Milma Malabar Regional Union head K.S. Mani said in a press statement that the union has put aside 2.3 crore for the purpose. 

In Malabar, Milma gathers 7.6 lakh litres of milk per day. Dairy producers would receive a Rs 50 paise per kg hay discount and a Rs 1 per kg maize powder discount from its sister company, Malabar Rural Development Foundation (MRDF). When most industries collapsed as a result of COVID-19, the milk manufacturing industry in north Kerala remained afloat. Furthermore, milk output grew during this time, as more individuals began to see dairy farming as a viable career option during the pandemic. 

The volume of milk gathered in the Malabar area increased by 10% every day, according to the Union. The gathering, which was chaired by Mr. Mani, drew a total of 1,136 participants from six northern districts. 

Malabar Regional Milk Producers' Union Welfare Measures 

The Procurement & Inputs (P&I) Department is in charge of milk production enhancement at the farmer level as well as milk procurement by the Societies and Union. Palakkad, Pattambi, Nilambur, Kozhikode, Kalpetta, Kannur, and Kanhangad are the locations where the functions are carried out. 

About Milma 

Milma, the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, was founded in 1980 as a cooperative society with its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. Farmers' memberships have expanded from 45000 when the KLD&MM Board was taken over in 1983 to over 13.51 lakhs through 3366 milk cooperatives by March 2021. 

These primary societies are grouped under three Regional Co-operative Milk Producers’ Unions viz TRCMPU for Thiruvananthapuram region, ERCMPU for Ernakulam region and MRCMPU for Malabar region. At the apex level KCMMF functions from the headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram.