Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) Chairman G. Somashekar Reddy on Sunday said that the State government was planning to introduce a comprehensive insurance package for dairy farmers from this September.
After discussing the insurance package details at its board meeting later this month, the KMF would take up the matter with the State government, Mr. Reddy said.
He was speaking at a function organised to hand over 15 acres of land on the outskirts of Chickballapur town to the Kolar-Chickballapur Milk Producers' Union for establishing a mega dairy at a cost of Rs. 50 crore.
Mr. Reddy said it had been planned to provide insurance cover to dairy farmers, cattle, their houses and fodder stock. The government was planning to introduce the insurance scheme from September in association with the KMF and milk producers' unions.
He said the government was planning to provide a support incentive of 50 paise a litre, in addition to the existing Rs. 2 a litre, so that it could be utilised for providing the insurance cover to dairy farmers and also hiking the salary of secretaries of milk producers' unions.
Milk output up
Mr. Reddy claimed the daily milk production in the State had shot up from 28-lakh litres to 42-lakh litres after he took over as the KMF Chairman in July 2009. “My aim is to ensure that the daily milk production in the State touches one-crore litres on a par with that in Gujarat,” he said.
He appealed to the Union Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa to provide two tankers of 40,000-litre capacity each to the KMF so that it could supply milk to New Delhi where the milk rates were high.
“Profits from these sales can be passed on to the farmers. The Kolar-Chickballapur Milk Producers' Union alone produces an excess of 5-lakh litres daily.”
The KMF chief said the Railways had provided such tankers to Andhra Pradesh.
Responding to his request, Mr. Muniyappa said he would sanction any number of tankers if the KMF made a written request. Mr. Reddy said the proposed mega dairy at Chickballapur would become operational in two years. Various milk products would be manufactured at the mega dairy which was situated close to the Bengaluru International Airport and National Highway 7.
