The State’s dairy sector suffered a loss of ₹107 crore in the August deluge, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister K. Raju has said.
He was speaking after handing over the keys of Milma Bhavan and distributing financial aid to flood-hit dairy farmers at a function under the aegis of Milma Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union at Punnapra, near here, on Saturday.
“The deluge has hit the dairy sector hard. Eight-thousand cows were washed away. We need to ensure that dairy farmers are getting reasonable price for the products,” Mr. Raju said. The Minister said that the production of cattle feed would be increased. “The rising price of cattle feed in the State will be reined in. We will initiate steps to insure cattle. The premium will be borne by milk societies or panchayats,” he said. Mr. Raju said the production of various Milma products would be increased.
Milma chairman Balan Master presided. District panchayat president G. Venugopal; Kerala Dairy Farmers Welfare Fund Board chairman N. Rajan; and Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. Managing Director Patil Suyog Subhashrao; were present at the function.
