PALAKKAD: Kerala’s ‘White Revolution’ seems to be losing its vigour, but officials are determined to reverse the trend. With summer yet to peak, milk procurement in the state has taken a beating, with average deficit coming in at 2.5-3 lakh litres a day.
With summer at its peak , the procurement of milk has taken a beating in the state and on an average there is a deficit between 2.50 lakh litres to 3 lakh litres per day. It is the Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram unions of Milma which are contributing to the deficit, while the Malabar union is self sufficient in the production of milk.
We were now procuring milk from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Karnataka is also facing a serious shortage. Despite the 5% jump in year-on-year sales posted in March, Milma is facing a strain on its resources due to the cost of transportation. The only way to tide over this crisis, at least in the future, is by increasing production in the state, said K S Mani, chairman of Milma.
The Malabar Regional Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union (MRCMPU) procures 6.50 lakh litres a day. This milk is consumed within the union itself. Only occasionally do we cater to the needs of the Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam unions, which are in deficit, said K C James, general manager, procurement and input (P&I) of MRCMPU, Kozhikode.
The Ernakulam union (ERCMPU) is running a daily deficit of 90,000 to 1.25 lakh litres. Average procurement is 3.25 lakh per day. If we make a provision for our value-added products, demand will be around 4.5 lakh litres, said K S Saju, marketing manager, ERCMPU. At the Thiruvananthapuram union (TRCMPU), daily procurement is 3.5 lakh litres while the requirement is for 5.5 lakh litres. We are running a deficit of 1.8 lakh to 2 lakh litres a day, said Dr Sreejith, manager, P&I, TRCMPU.
Milma has submitted a plan to the government for increasing production. Chief among its suggestions is retaining existing farmers. It has also sought attracting youngsters to the sector and allocation of plan funds for dairy development, animal husbandry and the three-tier Panchayat Raj, said Mani.
Assistance to farmers for asset development, mechanisation, purchase of milch cows, subsidy on cattle feed, providing veterinary help at the doorstep and creating awareness to increase productivity and quality of milk were some of the focus areas suggested for 2023-24, he said.
In Wayanad, we are experimenting with 12-hour intervals between milking and then storing the milk in bulk coolers. The first milking is done at 5am and the produce transferred to the society at 7am, with the evening round at 5pm and transfer by 7.30pm. This has increased productivity and also lowered the incidence of bovine mastitis, Mani added.
