Deputy Commissioner G. Jagadeesh said on Tuesday that the country had come a long way from being deficit in milk production to being an exporter of milk now.
He was speaking at the birth anniversary of Verghese Kurien, which is celebrated as the National Milk Day, organised by the Dakshina Kannada Cooperative Milk Producers Union, here.
Mr. Jagadeesh said that it was the vision of Verghese Kurien that the country, under Operation Flood, became not only self-sufficient in milk production but also exported it. There was a time before 1970 when the country used to import milk. It was now the largest producer of milk in the world.
It was due to milk production that farmers were being able to lead a dignified life in the country. But there were some instances of adulteration of milk that were being reported.
The authorities would deal firmly with those indulging in such adulteration, he said.
The Dakshina Kannada Milk Producers Union topped the State in sharing its profits with its members. The union had sought land for its showroom here. He had directed the Udupi Municipal Commissioner to identify land for it, Mr. Jagadeesh said.
Successful farming
In her speech, Kavita Mishra, progressive farmer, who launched the software of the union, narrated how being a topper in computer science, she had found success in agriculture after facing several trials and losses. Farmers can become economically self-sufficient provided they grew multiple crops in their land instead of depending on a single crop, she said.
She exhorted them to switch to season-based mixed cropping. This would ensure fixed income for them almost every month. They should also take up animal husbandry and dairy farming. They should grow sandalwood as it was profitable, she said.
Presiding over the function, Kodavoor Raviraj Hegde, president of the union, said that the quality of milk produced by the union members was the best among the 14 unions in the State. Nearly 40 % of the associations under the union did not have their own land.
As a result, they could not have their own buildings. The district administration should provide at least five cents of land for these associations in villages in Udupi district, he said.
