Agartala, September 30: The Tripura government is planning a major expansion of the dairy sector with a focus on increasing milk production, strengthening cooperative societies and providing enhanced financial and technical support to farmers, Animal Resources Development Minister Sudhangshu Das said on Tuesday.
Das was speaking at the 13th Board Meeting of the Gomati Cooperative Milk Union, held after a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Animal Resources Development Department, Gomati Cooperative Milk Union and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
The minister said the state’s present milk production was inadequate to meet consumer demand and stressed the need to utilise NDDB’s expertise to strengthen the dairy sector.
“Milk is a balanced and essential food, but our local production falls short. With NDDB’s support, we can expand production, processing, and distribution to ensure affordable access for consumers,” Das said.
He said the cooperation would focus on improving milk production and processing, strengthening marketing and distribution networks and ensuring dairy products were available to consumers at reasonable prices.
Gomati Cooperative Milk Union Chairman Ratan Ghosh said the meeting was the first joint board meeting with NDDB since the MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Manik Saha.
He said the Union was targeting an increase in the number of associated dairy farmers from 6,642 to 10,000 and planned to establish 52 new milk-producing cooperative societies across the state.
The recently acquired Tridha Dairy at Kamalpur would also be integrated into the Union’s operations, while a new dairy plant at Bamutia, with a processing capacity of 40,000 litres, is being operationalised.
Ghosh said Gomati Dairy had grown substantially since its establishment in 1982, when it had a processing capacity of 5,000 litres, and now had a capacity of 40,000 litres.
The cooperative currently produces four varieties of milk, two types of paneer, ghee, ice cream, packaged drinking water and nearly 75 varieties of sweets.
Marketing strategies are also being reviewed to improve profitability and ensure better returns for dairy farmers, Ghosh said.
The board discussed measures to ensure effective implementation of Central and state government schemes for cattle rearers and dairy farmers.
NDDB North-East Coordinator Sabyasachi Roy, senior officials of the ARD Department, the Union’s Managing Director and Secretary, besides other board members and officials, attended the meeting.
