PONDA: Stating that dairy business is highly profitable, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the government is providing various subsidies and incentives in dairy and farming sector.
He called upon the Goan dairy farmers, especially the youth to take up dairy business by availing the benefits of various schemes to make Goa self-reliant in milk production.
“Like dairy there are incentives for production of biogas, vermi compost and considering this, Goa, which will be declared an organic State, will soon ban use of chemical fertilisers,” he said.
He appealed to the farmers to opt for biogas and vermin compost and use the same in their agricultural and dairy activities.
Stating that Cooperation Minister Govind Gaude is seriously looking into Goa Dairy affairs, he said in the next four to five months, efforts would be made to make it a profit-making organisation.
He was speaking at the milk producers meet organised by Goa Dairy to felicitate the highest individual milk producing individual farmers and societies in Goa and to provide steel cans for supplying milk at Rajiv Kala Mandir, Ponda.
Cooperation Minister Govind Gaude, Veterinary Department secretary Kuldeep Singh Gangar, Dr Santosh Desai , Goa Dairy Administrator Dr Vilas Naik and MD Radhika Kale were present.
The Chief Minister appealed to the farmers to elect good and non-corrupt representatives on Board of Directors of Goa Dairy to ensure that government is not forced to appoint Administrator.
He said Goa Dairy management miserably failed to provide good quality cattle feed at subsidised rates to farmers despite the cattle feed plant set up by government.
He said Goa’s milk requirement is around 2.50 lakh litres per day but the Goa Dairy management failed to encourage and provide incentives to milk farmers from time-to-time and therefore Goa Dairy lagged in increasing milk production in the State.
He said, “The government is providing incentives to Goa Dairy farmers, which is 40 per cent of the cost of total production and thus one can earn huge incentives to the tunes of lakhs of rupees. The government has decided to felicitate the farmers producing highest milk quantity with special Gopalratna Award of Rs one lakh on December 19, which was suggested by former chief minister late Manohar Parrikar.
He said special veterinary services will be provided to dairy farmers to take care of their animals at government veterinary hospitals each in North and South . He appealed to the farmers to produce green fodder in Goa so that cost of importing the fodder from other States is reduced. Highest milk producing farmers from Goa Nakul Paryekar, Madhav Sahakari, Rajendra Sawal, Sushma Prabu, Saritha Dalvi and Nirmala Komarpant were felicitated.
