Procurement of milk in the Ernakulam region of Milma, comprising the districts of Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thrissur, and Idukki, has gone up in recent months by about 25,000 litres a day. The development is attributed to more rubber farmers from Kottayam turning to dairy farming.
Balan Master, chairman, Ernakulam Regional Cooperative Milk Producers Union (ERCMPU), says the fall in prices of rubber has cast a shadow on the lives of people in Kottayam.
Rubber prices have fallen by half and the farmers have been finding it difficult to get tappers. In comparison, small-scale dairy farming could be managed by resources available, he says. The dairy sector provides steady income to the farmers. The rise in milk procurement has been significant in the region, he says.
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The ERCMPU has been adopting measures to help the dairy farmers. In one of its latest initiatives, the cooperative body offers Rs.2 extra per litre of milk being procured during summer.
The scheme commenced on February 11.
In addition, milk producing societies which manage procurement will get an extra of 50 paise a litre of milk procured during the period.
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The government is keen on improving milk yield. Kunnukara grama panchayat in Ernakulam district has been bestowed the status of ‘ksheera gramam.’
A host of measures will be implemented across the panchayat to make it a model dairy farming panchayat.
The average daily procurement of milk in the Ernakulam region had gone up from 2.06 lakh litres in 2012-13 to 2.20 lakh litres in 2013-14. The sales had gone up from 2.99 lakh litres in 2012-13 to 3.03 lakh litres in 2013-14. With the current increase in production, the gap between procurement and sales could become narrower.
Milk procurement in four districts up by 25,000 litres a day
Rubber price had halved, tappers not readily available