Onam Gift: Govt to Provide Subsidy to Dairy Farmers & Societies

J. Chinchu Rani, the minister for animal husbandry and dairy development in Kerala on August 16 announced that dairy farmers and societies throughout the state will receive a subsidy of Rs 4 per liter as an Onam gift.

She stated that the subsidy from last month will be made directly available through the banks while launching the sales of Milma Rich milk and Smart Curd as well as their delivery through the online platform Swiggy.

"Cows are being provided by the Department to boost domestic production. This year, the number of panchayats chosen for the "Pashukidavu" scheme has doubled. A scheme is also being rolled out to give one cow to BPL card holders.    The Kerala Dairy Farmers Welfare Fund Board will provide a kaineettam of Rs 250 to every dairy farmer, while a subsidy of Rs 16,000 per acre is being offered to encourage the development of fodder grass," the Minister stated.

Priced at 26 for 500 ml, Milma Rich milk has 4.5% fat and 8.5% non-fat solids. More cups of tea and coffee can be made with a little quantity of milk from Milma Rich, which is also ideal for making sweets and desserts. The cost of the 500gm Smart Curd sachet, which has 10% non-fat solids and 1.5% fat, is 32. The Minister gave the products to R. Chandrasekharan, district president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association.

The Minister highlighted many initiatives to support dairy farming and claimed that milk production has significantly increased in comparison to previous years. She added, "Milma is also able to give enough milk to schools and anganwadis for children’s consumption.

In order to increase the sale of Milma products, four new Milma stalls are being built in the city, according to Mayor Prasanna Earnest, who presided over the event. Administrative Committee Convenor N. Bhasurangan of the Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cooperative Milk Producers Union of Milma (TRCMPU-Milma) stated that the regional union is preparing complex arrangements for the sale of Milma products to satisfy the demand of the Onam season.

Incentives will be offered to agencies that will be attractive enough to encourage sales that will surpass last year's record Onam sales. In addition, administrative committee members, K.R. Mohanan Pillai and Kollam and Dairy senior manager R. K. Samuel, TRCMPU managing director D.S. Konda were also present.