The IDF summit has put into prominence a trend sweeping the Indian rural dairy scene. Over 7.5 lakh small farmers, comprising 70 per cent of women membership, have come together to establish their own 20 producer companies and are producing stuff good enough to compete with global brands.
Giving a glimpse of it to the galaxy of experts and leaders of the global dairy sector, dairy farmers from across India launched over half a dozen products during the ongoing IDF World Dairy Summit 2022 underscoring their bid to capture portions of the market, heavily dominated by the established brands of big players.
‘It’s a proud day for the farmer community that has demonstrated the collective strength to create a niche for themselves, the organization created by them to ensure maximum compensation for their sweat and labour’, said Shri Meenesh Shah, Chairman of National Dairy Development Board while congratulating the organization created by the women only dairy farmers coming out of their houses to demonstrate their empowerment.
From yummy curd to aromatic cow ghee and nutritious paneer and mouth-watering yoghurt among the value-added product offerings showcased by four all women organization besides significant players from the Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat at the IDF WDS 2022 inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on September 12, 2022.
“I am very proud that four different brands of ghee along with curd and paneer have been launched. Four of the five entities whose products have been unveiled are hundred percent women member organizations. Tens of thousands of rural women have joined hands to form their organizations Shreeja, Asha, Sakhi and Balinee while the other two are Maahi from Gujarat and Paayas from Rajasthan having a substantial number of women members, M D Shri. Saugata Mitra said on this occasion.
These organizations cover the entire value chain from milk procurement, production, sale to institutional buyers, and processing value-added products. This will revolutionize the dairy sector where small and marginal farmers having up to three animals constitute more than 70 per cent of it, Shri Shah said.
“They come knocking on the branded market for true realization of their worth without middlemen. They stand proud and prominent to be noticed and counted,’ he said.
NDDB’ and its wholly owned subsidiary NDS has facilitated the creation of 20 such organizations in the last 10 years and 18 are operational as of now with members collecting 40 lakh litres of milk every day and their entry and expansion into value added products will help them overcome the vagaries of slack milk season.
Out of the operational 18 MPCs, 12 are 100 percent women owned institutions; wherein Shreeja, with operations in the holy city of Tirupati, has the distinction of being the first women centric MPC amongst all. Shreeja has also earned the distinction of becoming the world’s largest women owned milk producer organization demonstrating true women empowerment at the grassroots level. Buoyed with its success, more women-only producer organizations are encouraged to take shape.
Sakhi and Asha are the women dairy farmer organizations in Alwar and Udaipur of Rajasthan while Balinee is a women-centric MPC created in the yet to fully developed region of Bundelkhand. These 4 have a total membership of over 2 lakh women dairy farmers, with daily collection of around 8 lakh litres per day.
Paayas, amongst the first MPCs in the country, is gathering over 6.5 lakh litres of milk every day from about a lakh dairy farmers. Besides Maahi, the leading MPC giant from Gujarat too is an established name in 10 districts of the Saurashtra region with a membership of over 1 Lakh milk collectors handling around 7 lakh litres of milk every day.
During the launch session, Shreeja unveiled their Cow Ghee and Mango Yoghurt, while Sakhi, Balinee and Maahi launched Ghee under their respective brands. Rajasthan-based Asha too has expanded its value-added portfolio with the introduction of their own branded Paneer and Curd. Paayas, the first among the lot of MPCs, also introduced the Cow Ghee drawing from the strength of rich cattle from the Shekhawati region for distribution in the state and the pink city Jaipur.
