In order to encourage milk production and provide an additional income to farmers, the Peddapalli district administration has decided to construct cattle hostels as a cooperative movement.
Under this scheme, the district administration would construct cattle hostels on government land under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and constitute cooperative groups of unemployed youth in the respective villages to maintain and run the facility. The farmers could enrol their cattle in the hostel so that the youth would provide necessary fodder and maintain them properly.
Once the milk is collected, it would be sold to the Karimnagar Dairy or other agencies and 50% of the income would be given to the farmer, while the remaining would be given to the youth maintaining the animal.
Those maintaining the hostel could also generate biogas by using the animal dung and produce organic manure to be sold to farmers.
A decision to this effect was taken by Peddapalli Collector A.S. Alagu Varshini, who visited the Karimnagar Milk Producer Company albeit Karimnagar Dairy on Tuesday. After inspecting the dairy and getting to know the benefits it had on farmers, the Collector decided to start cattle hostels in Peddapalli.
Speaking to The Hindu , Ms. Varshini said the concept of cattle hostel would help the unemployed youth rear cattle at the hostels constructed by the government on government land. “We would construct the sheds and drill borewells to provide water to grow fodder and azolla for the milching animals,” she said.
The hostel would also help farmers who do not have land for cattle sheds.
Karimnagar Dairy chairman Ch. Rajeshwara Rao said the milk-producer company would participate in the project and collect the milk generated from there.
