Meenesh Shah, Chairman, NDDB and Assam CM discuss ways to promote dairying as livelihood in the state
Meenesh Shah, Chairman, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) recently called upon Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister, Assam, on in Guwahati and presented Assam’s dairy development road map. Atul Bora, Minister for Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary, Border Area Development, Implementation of Assam Accord, Cooperation, Government of Assam was also present.
The CM is keen to promote dairying as a livelihood in Assam with achieving a target of handling around 10 lakh litres of milk per day by end of the project period. Dr Sarma emphasised that initiatives should be commercially viable and sufficiently remunerative for the dairy farmers of the state.
Shah said that the plan will include the creation of processing infrastructures, village level institutions and marketing of milk and milk products. Simultaneously, productivity enhancement of milch animals will be achieved through increasing artificial insemination coverage, usage of sex-sorted semen, induction of high yielding animals, calf rearing programmes and interventions in feed and fodder. The project will be implemented by a Special Purpose Vehicle to be promoted by the Government of Assam and NDDB.
The Govt of Assam had requested NDDB to manage the West Assam Cooperative Milk Union (WAMUL), which was on the verge of closure. NDDB took over the management in 2008. Keeping in view the effect of NDDB’s intervention in restoring/reviving the dairy cooperative institution, the Assam Government has approved another extension of NDDB’s management of WAMUL for a further period of five years.
