Seeking to put India on the world map of dairy farming, the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO) on Friday announced inking of an agreement with two firms, including world's largest milk exporter Fonterra Cooperative Group of New Zealand, to conduct a joint feasibility study on a pilot basis for establishing world-class dairy farms in India.
IFFCO signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Fonterra Cooperative Group and Global Dairy Health in New Zealand, according to a statement issued here by the company. “The synergy of two large cooperatives and dairy experts will help position India as a quality milk producer,'' IFFCO Joint Managing Director Rakesh Kapur said.
He said the study, which would be completed shortly, would mainly look at zeroing in on key parameters for the project. In the first phase, there would be around 3,000-5,000 cows at the farm. Fonterra Cooperative Group CEO Andrew Ferrier said the approach taken for the study in India was similar to that in China, where a pilot farm with herd size of 3,000 cows was established in 2007.
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