New scheme for small dairy trade on cards

The Yogi Adityanath government is set to launch a new project to increase the income of dairy farmers by aggressively engaging them in dairy trade.

The project is an abridged but more attractive version of the Akhilesh Yadav government’s Kamdhenu Scheme.

The new scheme, which may be named after BJP icon Deen Dayal Upadhyay, seeks to help people set up very small dairies comprising only 6-12 animals that may be cows or buffaloes or the mix of the two.

Under the proposed scheme requiring an investment of Rs 3-5 lakh only, depending on the size of the unit, the investors will get a grant from the government to set up dairies. The amount of the grant is yet to be finalised.

According to sources, the animal husbandry department on Monday submitted the scheme to the government which would be placed before the Cabinet for approval.

“We are planning a scheme providing for two categories of dairies – one of 5-6 animals and another of 10-12 animals – with a view to benefit small and marginal farmers,” animal husbandry minister SP Singh Baghel told HT.

He claimed the new scheme would be a hit as the investment would be quite low unlike the one laid down in the previous government’s Kamdhenu Scheme.

Under Kamdhenu, there were three variants of dairies –100, 50 and 25 animals. The investment was between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 1 crore depending on the size of the dairy.

The banks provided interestfree loans of up to 75% of the project cost. The scheme also made it mandatory for the investors to procure high-quality animals from outside UP.

Though around 2,500 dairies were set up under the Kamdhenu Scheme, many investors started finding it difficult to pay loan instalments regularly as they could not find the market to sell milk at a remunerative price.

Unlike Kamdhenu, the proposed scheme not only seeks to provide the grant in place of interest subsidy but also puts no restriction on purchasing animals from within the state.

Sources said while the SP government’s scheme aimed at increasing the number of animals of good breed, the objective of the new project is to increase milk production and help small farmers increase their income.

“Mostly prosperous people set up dairies under Kamdhenu and those who were not that rich started finding it difficult to repay the loan for various reasons,” said an official.

“The proposed scheme is so attractive that anyone can set up and maintain small dairies,” he said.

THE PROJECT IS AN ABRIDGED BUT MORE ATTRACTIVE VERSION OF THE AKHILESH YADAV GOVERNMENT’S KAMDHENU SCHEME.