KENDRAPARA: The 21-day long lockdown has hit milk production in the district putting the livelihood of a large number of dairy farmers in jeopardy.President of Kendrapara Dairy Farmers’ Association Madhaba Das said many locals used to supply milk to the Government-run Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Ltd (OMFED) for their livelihood. However, OMFED has stopped collecting milk from them due to the lockdown. This has resulted in around 10,000 dairy farmers of the district suffering huge losses.
Sources said hundreds of farmers and milk producers in and around Karandiapatana village have lost their livelihood after the milk production and chilling centre and cooperative societies have been closed due to the coronavirus lockdown. Kalyani Rout (38) of Balanadampur said the centre used to collect nearly 5,000 litre of milk from dairy farmers of area. However, milk collection has been stopped due to the restrictions. “Nearly 1,200 villagers supplied milk to the centre everyday. Since the facility has a chilling system, dairy farmers deposited their milk at the centre every morning. But now, the centre has been closed and villagers are suffering heavy losses,” she added.
Adding to the woes of dairy farmers, tea stalls and dhabas, which used to order milk every day, have been closed. “I used to supply milk to many nearby hotels, tea stalls and dhabas. This too has stopped since all the eateries and shops have been shut down to by the administration to prevent coronavirus spread,” said Hemant Das, dairy farmer of Rajnagar.
Besides, the lockdown has resulted in acute shortage of cattle fodder, leaving the farmers worried. As the Government has imposed restrictions on transportation of goods barring the essential commodities, cattle feed is no longer available in market. Madhaba said the Government should allow OMFED to collect milk from dairy farmers who are staring at an uncertain future due to lack of any income.