PONDA: Goa Dairy farmers on Saturday threatened to launch an agitation if the State government fails to honour its promises including hike in milk procurement rates, incentives and other pending demands.
Goa Dairy farmers including former Chairman Anup Priolkar, Sanjeev Cuncolienkar and others addressed media persons.
“If government fails to meet our pending demands then we will stage agitation along with sugarcane farmers,” Priolkar warned.
“For more than a year the Goa Dairy Administrator has been appointed. Whenever farmers approach them the officials says they need time to study on farmers’ demands. But they are transferred before fulfilling any promise,” he claimed.
He said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant during a meeting with them in March this year had assured to hike in milk procurement rates by Rs 3 but despite several reminders to the dairy the promise has remained unfulfilled.
“Even Goa Dairy rival SUMUL is paying incentives to the farmers on time from which Goa Dairy should emulate,” he said and warned that if the government continued to neglect their demands then they will have no option then to switch to other sector.
A farmer said, “Government had appointed three-member committee on administration which includes a dairy farmer as chairman. However, despite this still all demands are pending as government is in control of dairy’s administration.”
